The Independent Commission Against Corruption has asked for the final report of the investigation into City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath's links with serial letter writer Scott Neylon.
The request was made public in an un-redacted version of a January 8 outcome letter, summarising the findings of an independent investigation into Mr Bath's links to a letter-writing campaign to the Newcastle Herald under the name of his long-time best friend, Mr Neylon.
Pinnacle Integrity was commissioned by City of Newcastle to investigate alleged confidentiality and Code of Conduct breaches by the council CEO through his connections with Mr Neylon.
A redacted version of the investigation outcome letter, written by Pinnacle Integrity general manager David Cushway, was released on December 22, but the full document has now been made public after consultation with a third party.
The redacted excerpts relate to the Independent Commission Against Corruption's involvement in the investigation.
Pinnacle Integrity said it wrote to the Commissioner of ICAC on September 29, 2023 advising of concerns outlined in the council resolution from July 25 "regarding the release of confidential electoral roll details".
The July 25 resolution called for scope of the investigation to examine "how confidential electoral roll details about council staff and their friends and family came into the possession of journalists".
ICAC responded on November 27, 2023, saying they would not investigate the matter and referred it to the NSW Electoral Commission.
But the letter said ICAC also requested a copy of the Code of Conduct final report, "as it relates to Mr Bath".
"Pending any representations or objections from council, Pinnacle Integrity proposes to accede to that request," Mr Cushway said in the letter.
The Herald revealed in July that, for almost a decade, Mr Neylon, who sometimes curiously misspells his surname as Neylan, had submitted 18 letters to the Herald, five of which were published.
The letters followed Mr Bath's career progression, attacking his critics and supporting his employers. As part of its investigation, the Herald revealed that Mr Neylon lists Mr Bath's home as his address in Australia. Mr Bath has denied any involvement in the letters.
Pinnacle Integrity's preliminary assessment identified two allegations - whether Mr Bath passed on confidential information to Scott Neylon which Mr Neylon included in letters to the Herald or that Mr Bath wrote one of the letters, which related to the Newcastle Maritime Museum.
The Pinnacle Integrity investigation, which did not include any contact with the Herald or any requests for unpublished letters, found "insufficient evidence" to support the allegations.
The council said on Monday it was working through its legal obligations in relation to releasing the investigation's full report and consultation was continuing.
"This will take some time as it is important CN complies with its legal obligations," the council said on its website.
The council said an update on whether the full report can be released would be provided in due course, but that was not expected until at least late January 2024.
