NAAJA CEO Priscilla Atkins alleged chairwoman Colleen Rosas took kickbacks, court documents reveal

The former chief of an Aboriginal agency has made claims of wrongdoing against a coworker, according to court documents. Read the latest in her dismissal dispute.

NAAJA chief executive Priscilla Atkins has previously accused her bosses of spreading rumours she was ‘on cocaine’. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency chief executive Priscilla Atkins alleged NAAJA’s chairwoman was receiving kickbacks from its chief financial officer, court documents have revealed.

The claims are contained in court documents filed with the Federal Court and obtained by this publication relating to the long running dispute between NAAJA and Ms Atkins over the organisation’s decision to dismiss her earlier this year.

In her statement of claim, Ms Atkins says NAAJA chairwoman Colleen Rosas and directors Carol Smith and Philip Brown undertook a performance review in October last year, which “contained no criticisms of Ms Atkins’ performance or conduct”.

Then on November 7, Ms Atkins says she emailed Ms Rosas and directors Carol Smith and Marilyn Smith alleging NAAJA chief financial officer Madhur Evans had “made payments to Ms Rosas” without the CEO’s knowledge “to which Ms Rosas was not otherwise entitled”.

She also alleged Ms Evans disclosed NAAJA’s confidential information, entered into “significant” unauthorised transactions and accessed Ms Atkins’ work computer “after-hours, without Ms Atkins’ permission”.

The chief executive also alleged Ms Evans “engaged in conduct amounting to bullying” of staff, “refused to follow reasonable and lawful directions” and secretly “recorded interactions within the workplace”.

The documents claim Ms Atkins was exercising her “workplace right” and responsibilities as CEO in sending the email.

“The complaints and inquiries related to the conduct of a senior NAAJA employee and to responsibilities and duties that Ms Atkins had as chief executive officer of NAAJA in the employment, including in respect of Ms Evans as an employee,” they read.

Later that month, the documents claim NAAJA suspended Ms Atkins, alleging “she had engaged in impropriety by failing to obtain proper approval for her contract extension and salary”.

“(That) allegation arose from a claim made by Ms Rosas on or about 15 November 2022 that she had not signed Ms Atkins’ contract extension and that Ms Atkins must have applied Ms Rosas’ electronic signature to the document without her knowledge or consent (allegations that Ms Atkins denies),” the documents read.

“On 30 January 2023, NAAJA issued a letter to Ms Evans stating that the matters raised in Ms Atkins’ email on 7 November 2022 were operational matters for Ms Atkins to address when the matters arose and were not matters for the board to address, and therefore the matter was now closed.

“The same consideration was not given by the NAAJA board to the allegations made against Ms Atkins.”

Earlier in January, the documents claim NAAJA alleged “for the first time that Ms Atkins had engaged in various forms of misconduct between 2014 and 2021” and required her to show cause as to why she should not be let go.

“NAAJA’s board purported to resolve to dismiss Ms Atkins on 12 and 13 January 2023 prior to informing her of the allegations the subject of the misconduct action or affording her an opportunity to respond to them or to show cause why the employment should not be terminated,” the documents read.

At 6.23pm on February 20, after Ms Atkins initiated court proceedings seeking an injunction preventing NAAJA from sacking her, the documents say the organisation notified her it had terminated her employment “effective immediately”.

Ms Atkins is now seeking compensation for loss of income, “distress, anxiety, shock and humiliation” and “damage to her professional reputation” with the case set down for a nine-day hearing from October 23.

Originally published as NAAJA CEO Priscilla Atkins alleged chairwoman Colleen Rosas took kickbacks, court documents reveal