Senior officials at the University of Canberra are set to face the "direct scrutiny" of a Legislative Assembly inquiry hearing for the first time, with hearings expected in the next fortnight.
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The Assembly's Education, Employment and Youth Affairs committee on Thursday resolved to conduct an inquiry into the university's 2016 calendar year annual report and associated financials, despite the government opposing the inquiry.
While the inquiry will focus on the 2016 reports, hearings expected to held in the next fortnight will likely include the university's role in property development and its business interests among other issues.
Despite all territory government directorates and agencies being subject to government-wide legislation forcing them to face annual hearings by various committees, the legislation apparently did not include the university.
The oversight was recognised in February this year, when the government apparently mistakenly included the university in its list of annual reports for referral to committee.
But education committee chair Michael Pettersson told the Assembly on Thursday the committee asked Higher Education Minister Meegan Fitzharris about the appropriateness of holding such an inquiry in May.
Ms Fitzharris responded in a formal government response in September saying the relevant laws did not require "formal examination" of the university's annual reports by a committee inquiry.
The response also said that "the government considers the current reporting requirements provide sufficient oversight and transparency" of the university's operations".
"The committee also wrote to the minister and Manager of Government Business [Mick Gentleman] to request that the 2016 annual report be included in this Assembly's next annual reports for referral," Mr Pettersson told the Assembly.
"The minister reiterated in its response to the committee that the current reporting requirements provide sufficient oversight and transparency," he said.
"On the 24th fo August 2017, the resolution of 16 February referring 2016-17 annual financial reports to committees for inquiry and report was amended to remove all references to the University of Canberra."
Mr Pettersson said that amendment was done to give the government time to respond to the committee's report.
"In light of ongoing correspondence between the committee and the minister, despite the government's position on this matter, the committee maintains that it would be of value for the [university's] annual and financial statements to be subject to scrutiny and reporting by a committee of this Assembly," he said.
The inquiry, Mr Pettersson later said while the university tables the report, it had never been "inquired into" and that with an expanded Assembly, the committee was "looking to increase its workload".
Canberra Liberals education spokesman Andrew Wall said he was glad to see the referral for an inquiry.
"It's appropriate that given the UC has been recipient of significant gifting of land that there is a level of scrutiny of and how those gifts have been to the benefit of Canberra and the tertiary education institution," he said.
"And as UC wants to enter a realm of property development, there should be an oversight role in the Assembly, given the support the ACT government has provided it to develop into the great institution it is today."
We are not aware that the University of Canberra has been brought before an Assembly inquiry in the past.
A university spokeswoman said it was "happy to engage in the process" and it was not aware the university had been brought before an Assembly inquiry in the past.
"The university is in regular contact with the Assembly, the ACT government and its representatives to provide an oversight of the institution's latest plans, achievements and challenges," she said.
She also said that no senior UC staff had "asked the government to oppose such an inquiry".
