Skills Minister Chris Steel has directed the board at the Canberra Institute of Technology to discover what funds can be recovered after an integrity investigation found "serious corrupt conduct".
When asked what funds he was specifically speaking about, Mr Steel said he was seeking advice about all costs spent.
This could include, but is not limited to, the two-year full salary paid to the former stood-down CIT chief executive, legal fees and money paid to "complexity and systems thinker" Patrick Hollingworth.
"I've asked them for advice in relation to all public funds in relation to this matter and the options for potentially recovering those funds," Mr Steel said.
CIT board chair Kate Lundy said the institute would seek legal advice on what costs it could recoup, but added she could not yet comment on those actions.
What funds can CIT retrieve?
The government paid former CIT chief executive Leanne Cover's legal costs for the Integrity Commission investigation.
Public servants are entitled to having their legal costs paid under the Law Officers Legal Services Directions.
"Public employees who are the subject of legal claims or inquiries arising out of the course of the performance of their duties are entitled to seek assistance in relation to their legal representation," a government spokesman said.
But while Ms Cover's legal fees were paid in relation to her role as a witness before the ACT Integrity Commission, the government did not provide any financial assistance in her recent attempt to seek an injunction to stop the report's release.
There is a condition in the direction that does allow the ACT government to recover legal costs. Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed this in early-June.
"The Solicitor-General's approval for legal assistance includes a standard condition that the territory reserves the right to recover that legal assistance in the event that it is established that the individual acted other than in the course of their employment or in bad faith," he told the Assembly.
What about Ms Cover's salary?
The former CEO was stood-down on full pay for two years from June 23, 2022 to June 18, 2024. The CIT says this was to "ensure procedural fairness" during the investigation.
She would have received more than $700,000 of total remuneration in that time, which may include other benefits, such as a car, before tax. Between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 she received a total package worth $361,544. Over the following year, this package rose to $373,061.
The ACT Greens are pushing for the government to try to recoup some of this, but that will depend on the advice the government gets. It's not clear yet whether the government is going to seek to do this.
As Ms Cover resigned she will not be entitled to any special benefits or payouts other than accrued leave. She kept accruing annual and personal leave while stood down, and this will be paid out to her.
If she did not resign and was dismissed, she still would not have been eligible to any payouts. The government ensured this after making changes in February.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr quietly signed off on changes to the territory government's public sector standards earlier this year.
Under the changes, government-appointed executives are not able to receive a payout if they are found to be corrupt.
Executives who have their employment terminated are eligible for a payout equivalent to two weeks of their salary for each year of employment or an amount equivalent to six months of their salary.
Before the changes, executives who were dismissed were not eligible for this payment if they had under-performed or had engaged in serious misconduct. But the term "serious corrupt conduct or systemic corrupt conduct" was added to the standards.
While this may have gone by unnoticed, Mr Barr did point to this when asked a question about the former CIT CEO by Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee.
The question was in relation to whether the government would make a submission to the ACT Remuneration Tribunal to say the then stood-down CEO should not receive a pay rise.
Mr Barr did not address that issue but pointed to the change in the public sector standards.
What about the money paid to Patrick Hollingworth?
Mr Hollingworth has been paid according to the agreed contracts with the CIT.
Companies owned by Mr Hollingworth entered into contracts worth more than $8.5 million over five years. About $4.5 million of that has already been paid to him.
Mr Hollingworth's entity, Think Garden, is also taking legal action against the CIT, alleging the institute owes the company $3.4 million.
This is the outstanding amount left on the $4.99 million contract he signed in early 2022. It was suspended following the Integrity Commission's investigation.
Think Garden has alleged CIT was liable for the entire contract if it terminated the contract.
CIT and Think Garden held a mediation session on Tuesday morning but the parties failed to reach an agreement. It is due to return to court in October.
Mr Hollingworth was paid nearly $1.7 million for this contract, which was supposed to run for two years.
An agreed fee structure included a payment for one-third of the contract upon execution. Under the agreement, 99 per cent of the contract was to be paid with less than 80 per cent of the work completed.
While this case is ongoing, it is going to be difficult for the government to determine whether it can pursue any funds from Mr Hollingworth.
