NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has conceded that he should have advised former deputy premier John Barilaro not to apply for an overseas trade role.
Mr Ayres told Nine Radio that Mr Barilaro's application for Trade Commissioner to the Americas came too soon after he left parliament and that he should have advised him not to apply for the role.
"If I had my time again, I would have said to him: 'The time frame between the end of your parliamentary career and you applying for this job will be too politically sensitive and you should not consider doing the role'," Mr Ayres said.
He accepted his job was on the line and he would be unable to continue as trade minister if the review found he acted improperly.
"I am confident that all of my actions have been in the best interests of the public and I think that's what that review will show," Mr Ayres said.
"If the [Graham] Head review shows that I have not done the right thing, then I don't think my position would be tenable but I don't believe that's the case."
Mr Ayres confirmed that he texted a copy of the job advertisement to Mr Barilaro when it was first advertised after Mr Barilaro expressed an interest in the role.
But Mr Ayres denied he had any role in Mr Barilaro's subsequent appointment to the role.
"Of course, I undertake my own reflections on my course of action, but everything I've done as a minister has been about making sure we deliver the best outcomes for the people of New South Wales," Mr Ayres said.
"I've always undertaken my ministerial duties with the highest level of integrity and I've always wanted to make decisions in the best interests of the public."
Mr Barilaro was announced as the successful candidate in June.
The position is based in New York and comes with a $500,000 salary package.
Mr Barilaro later withdrew from the position, saying it had become untenable.
Mr Ayres said Premier Dominic Perrottet had not asked him to stand aside over the matter but admitted it had been a "challenging" few weeks.
"[Mr Perrottet] has been really supportive through this whole exercise," Mr Ayres said.
"He's made it pretty clear that he's put in place the independent review that's been conducted by Graham Head, a former public service commissioner, and he wants to wait until that review's completed and he'll make his decisions after that."
The Premier initiated the review in late June and it has been conducted alongside a parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Perrottet has said he expects to receive the findings of the review "very shortly".
Deputy Premier and Nationals leader Paul Toole refused to comment directly on whether he supported Mr Ayres but said public confidence in ministers was critical.
"As the leader of the National Party and as the Deputy Premier I have very high standards and I have very clear expectations of my ministers," he said.
"I expect them to be acting with honesty and integrity at all times."
Leaked emails last week revealed Mr Ayres put forward a name to be added to a shortlist of candidates for the role but he maintains that name was not John Barilaro's.
Documents released yesterday revealed another candidate was recommended ahead of Mr Barilaro before he was later ranked higher.
The NSW Opposition called on Mr Ayres to release all texts and emails between himself and Mr Barilaro relating to the New York job.
"It's not credible for Stuart Ayres to continue to peddle this campaign of misinformation that he had no role in the affair where document after document after document is showing that his fingerprints are all over it," Labor's Daniel Moohkey said.
The Opposition has produced a new email which it says shows that Mr Ayres's office sought an update on the recruitment process for the Americas role directly from Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown, while Mr Ayres and Ms Brown were in London on an official visit.
Mr Moohkey said a shortlist of candidates was confirmed after the pair returned.
Labor has expressed concern that scores of documents relating to the matter remain under privilege and cannot be accessed by the parliamentary inquiry.
"There are hundreds of pages that should have been released by now that have not," Mr Mookhey said.
"The public will want to see that information … as you can already see from the information that has been made public – they point to the close involvement of Stuart Ayres in this process throughout."
Mr Barilaro is scheduled to appear before the parliamentary inquiry on Monday.
