ICAC hears UOW faced collapse risk as consultancy deal unfolded

Board minutes secretly altered

Jun 25, 2026

Peter O’Brien, Dr Stacy Oon and ICAC Commissioner Paul Lakatos SC. Image by Google Gemini

KordaMentha was the preferred choice for a University of Wollongong consulting contract before the tender had even closed, a governance insider has told a public corruption inquiry - as evidence emerged that UOW’s own health checks had warned the institution was at risk of collapse.

Dr Stacy Oon, associate director of strategic governance and projects under former chief governance officer Alyssa White, gave her second day of evidence before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday as Operation Scandi’s public hearings continued in Sydney.

Oon told the inquiry she had texted White after KordaMentha submitted its proposal for an enterprise-wide review of university operations, saying she hoped no other firm would submit a bid. She said there was already “a strong preference to engage KordaMentha” - communicated through White, though White had not said whose preference it was. Oon said she had assumed it was Chancellor Michael Still’s, having drafted the relevant tender memorandum on his behalf.

KordaMentha was ultimately selected.

The inquiry is examining whether that process was compromised by an undisclosed conflict of interest involving Professor John Dewar, appointed interim Vice-Chancellor in 2024 shortly before the firm was engaged, and who is alleged to have had a prior relationship with KordaMentha. Evidence was also led that a notation recording Dewar’s conflict of interest was omitted from September 2024 board minutes, added only in October 2024 after White instructed Oon and colleague Lucinda Wright to update them. Oon said she was not told why.

The inquiry separately examined the engagement of Aspirall Consulting International, allegedly brought in at the direction of Still, who stepped aside on June 5 ahead of the hearings. The original engagement totalled approximately $56,600 plus GST - well above UOW’s $20,000 consultancy tender threshold.

Oon said White directed her to draft a procurement exemption email stating the engagement was under $50,000, apparently confusing UOW’s threshold with the University of Sydney’s higher limit. Whether that email was ever sent was not established in evidence.

Earlier, White’s counsel Peter O’Brien pressed Oon on the conditions facing the governance team. A March 2023 internal health check identified staff wellbeing at high risk, a severe threat to business continuity, and a risk of non-compliance with TEQSA, the federal regulator responsible for university accreditation.

Precarious financial position

That health check revealed UOW’s governance division carried the lowest staffing of any peer institution, Mr O’Brien said - effectively six full-time staff against a sector average of 9.2 - while preparatory meetings had increased by more than 1,000 per cent between 2021 and 2022.

Oon confirmed that failing TEQSA re-registration, required in 2024, would have rendered the university unable to operate. She told the inquiry the situation may have been more dire:
“My understanding is some of the reporting had indicated the university was going to go bankrupt … the university wouldn’t be able to operate based on its financial position.”

White resigned two days before hearings opened. The inquiry is examining her conduct alongside that of Still, Professor Dewar, and others over the alleged subversion of recruitment processes, the improper award of work to Aspirall, and the management of conflicts of interest.

Oon’s evidence will continue on Friday before former deputy vice-chancellor Professor Sean Brawley, who was one of the made redundant in 2024, appears.

Former electrician’s appointment

The inquiry also heard from Matthew Dawkins, a UOW governance coordinator whose long-standing friendship with White dates to high school. Facebook Messenger exchanges tendered in evidence showed White had sent him job advertisements, advised on his cover letter, provided interview tips, removed her own name from his CV as a referee, accepted his late application, and remained on the selection panel that appointed him to a role he conceded he had little relevant experience to fill.
Dawkins agreed the assistance had significantly undermined the probity of the recruitment process, and confirmed White had instructed him to conceal their friendship when he joined the team - telling him to say they knew each other only from his earlier casual work at the university.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has made no findings in Operation Scandi.