Message from the Vice-Chancellor on governance

I am writing to the community to address a set of serious issues raised by Senator David Pocock in a Townhall on Tuesday 17 June, and reported in media outlets overnight. Allegations of this type are serious, and I am writing to assure our community of the facts and provide clarity on the University’s response.  

I would like to specifically reference the assertions that the University has breached the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (“PID Act”) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (“PGPA Act”).  

To date, no allegations of any breach of ANU’s responsibilities under either the PID Act or the PGPA Act have been made to the University. Neither had we been aware, until reading the media reporting, of any such complaints made to either our Minister or to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.   

We are particularly disheartened to hear a public assertion that we have breached our obligations under the PID Act. This is something that the University and the team involved take extremely seriously, not least because a breach of that Act can attract significant penalties, including imprisonment. Ensuring disclosures are properly made requires that our community feels safe to do so, and unfortunately efforts to build that sense of safety may have been significantly undermined by these statements.  

We will be sending a letter to Senator Pocock this afternoon requesting clarity on those issues and seeking any information that the Senator has that would allow us to investigate. We will also be sending a letter to the Minister reiterating our position that we are aware of no such breaches and are seeking additional information.  We will continue to also work with our regulator, TEQSA, on addressing concerns around compliance that may be put before it. 

I appreciate that this is a lot to take in on a Friday afternoon, and these sorts of headlines can be destabilising and upsetting. My hope is that you go into your weekend knowing that ANU takes governance matters very seriously, for the benefit of us all. 

Genevieve Bell
Vice-Chancellor and President
The Australian National University