Watchdog's first findings on Canberra Institute of Technology 'systems thinker' contracts draw near

Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams KC on Monday said an interim report had been provided to those required by law to have an opportunity to comment on the findings before they are made public.

"It has to remain confidential for obvious reasons, because the findings must necessarily remain sensitive until procedural fairness is completed," Mr Adams told a Legislative Assembly inquiry examining the commission's annual report.

The interim report had been provided to about 35 people, who will have six weeks in which to comment on the findings.

"The issues, as you can appreciate just from the general publicity are substantial," Mr Adams said.

The ACT Integrity Commission said earlier this year it had made significant headway into the complex and high-profile investigation into a series of consulting and advisory contracts awarded by CIT to companies owned by "complexity and systems thinker" Patrick Hollingworth.

The first report from the investigation will consider a particular area of concern, Mr Adams said, drawn from material from the wider investigation.

"We focus on the subject matter of the report. There's already been a great deal of work on what I'll call the wider investigation, but much work still has to be done in that area. That work raises different but important questions I don't want to go into," he said.

Mr Adams refused to be drawn on whether the publication of the first report from the investigation would determine the fate of Canberra Institute of Technology chief executive Leanne Cover, who is on paid leave.

"I don't think I should say one way or another," he said.

The commission's 2022-23 annual report said it continued to receive reports related to the CIT contracts through the year. The report said there were eight extra received over 2022-23 which were incorporated into the commission's investigation of CIT.

The commission does normally not reveal the contents of its investigations but an exception was made in the case of CIT due to the significant public interest surrounding the case.

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