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The Independent Commission Against Corruption will hold a public inquiry into University of Wollongong chancellor Michael Still and other senior university staff, it announced on Tuesday.
The Herald last month revealed that the NSW anti-corruption watchdog had visited the Illawarra campus during its investigation of corruption allegations.
“The commission is investigating whether the university’s chief governance officer and secretary, Alyssa White, or any other University of Wollongong staff … intentionally [subverted] recruitment processes for governance roles, to benefit persons associated with Alyssa White,” the ICAC said in a statement.
“The commission will also examine whether, since 2024, Chancellor Michael Still, Alyssa White, or any other University of Wollongong staff or contractors … exercised their official functions by improperly awarding work to Aspirall Consulting International Pty Ltd.
“Finally, the commission will investigate whether Michael Still, or any other University of Wollongong staff or contractor, partially exercised their official functions by failing to manage the conflict of interest relating to the employment of John Dewar as interim vice chancellor and the engagement of KordaMentha Pty Ltd.”
The former head of lobby group Universities Australia and partner at KordaMentha, Dewar was made interim vice-chancellor in 2024.
KordaMentha was awarded a contract for the university’s “transformation strategy” worth $2.9 million while Dewar was in the role.
Still told NSW parliamentary inquiry into the university sector that Dewar was appointed on June 30, 2024, and KordaMentha started “as part of the tender process for the review of operations” three weeks later.
Dewar’s role, the inquiry heard, was nine days a fortnight at the university while doing one day at KordaMentha.
“There was no conflict because there was a tender process in a normal fashion, undertaken very strictly, for the appointment of a consultant. Totally outside that process, John Dewar was asked if he would step in as an interim vice-chancellor,” Still said in December.
“John Dewar is one of the most highly regarded university chief executives in the country. We were very fortunate that he was able and willing to come and be vice-chancellor for six or seven months … he said [the university] was not running like it should.”
Aspirall, another consultancy firm, was selected in 2024 to run workshops for staff “input” into the next vice chancellor.
Still told the parliamentary inquiry: “I am aware of the company Aspirall through their work as a strategy consulting firm. I have used them successfully in the past. I do not have a close personal relationship with CEO or any other senior executives at Aspirall.”
Aspirall chief executive Tanya Diesel said in a LinkedIn post from 2025, alongside an image of Still: “A real privilege to witness the installation of the new Chancellor for University of Wollongong, Michael Still. Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley spoke about the value of ceremony. I thought her sharing was quite beautiful and inspiring.”
Long-serving university employee Lisa Simmons told the committee hearing she had been granted whistleblower protection after flagging suspected corrupt conduct with the ICAC. Those allegations, which included alleged conflicts of interest at senior levels, were made alongside a claim that “accountability structures” had been “purposefully weakened” and internal criticism silenced.
The University of Wollongong was contacted for comment.
A scathing interim report from the parliamentary inquiry earlier this year found the University of Wollongong should be compelled to detail its commercial activities, including those overseas. It also found universities should disclose their consultant spending and freedom of information laws should be overhauled to ensure transparency.
The report singled out Wollongong for criticism, finding that a major university restructure developed with “significant input from consultants” in 2025 had resulted in “adverse impacts on staff”, including increased workloads and reduced job security.
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