Corruption watchdog's university probe ends in tears

Three weeks of probing by the NSW corruption watchdog has ended in tears.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption has spent the past 15 days examining allegations involving recruitment practices, consultancy contracts, governance reforms and conflicts of interest during a period that would ultimately lead to a major university restructure and hundreds of job losses.

Former chief governance officer Alyssa White, who left the university before becoming a central figure in the inquiry, concluded three days of evidence on Friday.

In the final minutes of the public hearing, Commissioner Paul Lakatos stepped away from individual appointments and instead summarised what he said Ms White's conduct had amounted to.

He put to her that she had helped friends and former colleagues through recruitment processes, provided assistance that was not available to other applicants and effectively influenced outcomes.

Ms White repeatedly agreed.

Commissioner Lakatos suggested the processes had become "unfair and opaque rather than transparent", to which she replied, "Yes, Commissioner."

He then suggested she had effectively placed her "finger on the scales" in favour of preferred candidates.

Again, she agreed.

"With your extensive experience in governance at tertiary institutions, you must have known that if your actions in these recruitments came to light, or even if there was a perception of what you did coming to light, that would corrode rather than improve the culture?" he asked.

"Yes, Commissioner," she said.

The most emotional exchange came Commissioner Lakatos asked, "Can you tell me why you did it?"

After a long pause, Ms White became visibly upset.

"I was desperate,"

she said.

"Very desperate to not only secure staff, but staff that would be able to work well together and staff that would be able to work in the environment that I could see that was in place at the university, particularly in the governance and policy space.

"It's a difficult space to work in … I did not do the right thing, but I didn't want someone to end up in that environment without knowing what they were signing up for."

The $400,000 job

Earlier on Friday, Ms White was questioned about a proposed $400,000 position she expected to occupy.

Ms White accepted she drafted a paper advocating for her direct appointment and repeatedly referred to the position as "my role".

She told the inquiry conversations with incoming vice-chancellor Max Lu and then-chancellor Michael Still had led her to believe "it would be the role for me".

Ms White agreed she understood she was in a conflict-of-interest position but resisted suggestions she should have removed herself from drafting the proposal.

The inquiry also heard Ms White remained in contact with Mr Still about the role after concerns were raised and while discussions were underway about whether there should be a recruitment process.

In one exchange, Ms White became emotional while discussing the prospect of the new position replacing her existing role.

"If I didn't take this role, then I didn't have a job,"

she said.

The inquiry has concluded its public hearings.

Counsel Assisting Emma Bathurst has until August 7 to file final submissions, with parties including Alyssa White, Michael Still and John Dewar then given an opportunity to respond before Commissioner Paul Lakatos prepares his findings.