'She did not explain to me why': Recruitment ranking was altered, ICAC told

Witness returns for day three

Jun 23, 2026

Brenden Hooke will return to the witness box when the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Scandi public inquiry into the University of Wollongong enters day 3 on Wednesday.

Mr Hooke, who returned to the University of Sydney in February after just over two years at UOW, spent much of Tuesday giving evidence about his role on recruitment panels chaired by former chief governance officer Alyssa White, who resigned two days before the inquiry opened.

The most significant evidence concerned a December 2024 recruitment process for a senior academic governance specialist position. Mr Hooke told the Commission he initially ranked candidate Ben Owen first in a draft selection report, reflecting what he said was the panel’s assessment after interviews.

Ms White, he said, later directed him via Microsoft Teams to amend the ranking and place another candidate, Kayla Powell, first. Evidence before the inquiry indicated Ms Powell was personally known to Ms White.

Mr Hooke, who was UOW’s deputy chief governance officer, accepted he didn’t ask why the change was made, didn’t consult the panel’s third member, Ellenie Petrou, and signed a final report stating all panel members agreed with the outcome. Under questioning from Commissioner Paul Lakatos SC, he acknowledged that statement was inaccurate.

“She did not explain to me why,” Mr Hooke said of Ms White’s direction. “I felt some concern about that.”

He also described Ms White as a “forceful” presence on recruitment panels and accepted he had deferred to her judgment in circumstances where he should have exercised greater independence.

Counsel for Ms White was unable to cross-examine Mr Hooke on Tuesday after the Commission granted an application for the afternoon session not to be livestreamed. The issue is expected to be revisited after transcripts become available.

Earlier, UOW deputy university secretary Lucinda Wright was discharged after two days of evidence concerning alleged conflicts of interest in recruitment processes within the Governance and Policy Division.