Hervey Bay TAFE teacher Trevor Brown fails to overturn finding into allegations of misconduct

A veteran Queensland TAFE teacher has been accused of leaving car mechanic students unattended for extended periods, and receiving cash for servicing a car during work hours.

A Queensland TAFE teacher is accused of receiving cash for servicing a car during work hours.

A veteran TAFE Queensland teacher accused of leaving car mechanic students unattended for extended periods, and receiving cash for servicing a private car during work time, has failed in his bid to overturn a finding that the allegations were substantiated.

Trevor Brown, a vocational teacher from Hervey Bay, took his case to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission after his boss told him three allegations of misconduct made against him were substantiated.

In a decision handed down on January 18 by Queensland Industrial Relations Commission Commissioner John Dwyer ruled that the November 2, 2023 “disciplinary finding” decision – in respect of the substantiation of three allegations against Mr Brown – by TAFE Queensland east coast region general manager Mark Riley was “fair and reasonable”.

Mr Dwyer also noted that if the allegations of misconduct can be proven at a later stage they are potentially “worthy of” sacking.

Mr Brown remains employed with TAFE but remains subject to a disciplinary probe, the QIRC heard.

“No final determination has been made with respect to a penalty,” Mr Dwyer noted.

The commission was told that in August last year Mr Brown was asked to “show cause” in relation to allegations that he failed to adequately supervision and/or left students of Certificate II automotive course unattended for extended periods of time in July last year.

Up to six students reported that Mr Brown “leaves them unattended, leaves them alone in the classroom” and “left the students alone for most of the day”.

The TAFE teacher allegedly left students unattended for extended periods.

The students also allegedly reported that during a 90-minute class, Mr Brown came in twice, but was then gone for an hour and that he “was servicing a car while the students worked on theory”.

Mr Dwyer concluded that the evidence of the students was “very rudimentary

and untested” but was “sufficient to support a finding that the allegation is substantiated”.

Mr Dwyer stated that before TAFE could justify sacking Mr Brown “a more robust body of

evidence from the students would be necessary” to be prepared by investigators.

The show cause notice also alleged that he acted improperly and/or unethically by servicing a car during ordinary working hours for $260 on July 20 last year and that he engaged in inappropriate and/or disrespectful conduct towards his manager at this same time.

Mr Brown, who has been employed by TAFE since about 2001 and in teaching more generally since 1990, did not dispute the allegation that he serviced a private vehicle on

July 20, during work hours and received cash payment for the work.

He submitted to the QIRC that servicing a private vehicle during work hours is a routine feature of the curriculum known as “live work” to provide practical instruction to students and

he had permission to do this from TAFE staffer Jody Ridgeway.

Mr Brown argued that the money received by him was merely reimbursement for his own products he used to service the car at work, and he could provide documents to the QIRC to prove how much he spent on the products.

He submitted that “live work” is still a routine practice at TAFE and during the QIRC hearing he contended he can provide names of other teachers who perform this “live work”.

But in his decision, Mr Dwyer concluded that “the evidence around whether the practice of live work is ongoing as alleged by Mr Brown is still a little unclear”.

The decision states that Ms Ridgeway in her answers to investigators questions “unequivocally rejects granting permission to receive payment for live work” but she “falls well short in her answers of denying knowledge or approval of the practice of live work, even if approval was only tacit”.

The owner of the vehicle confirmed she paid Mr Brown $260 to $270 in cash to service her car, the commission heard.

Mr Brown did not disclose this payment until confronted with the allegation in the show cause process, the decision states.

“Mr Brown’s failure to be fully transparent about the cash payment is problematic,” Mr Dwyer concluded.

Mr Dwyer ruled that Mr Riley’s substantiation of the allegation that Mr Brown serviced a woman’s car during ordinary TAFE working hours for $260 on July 20 last year was “not …

outside the realms of reasonableness, and certainly not unfair”.

“Mr Brown may yet provide compelling evidence to reconcile the payment he received,

but at this time the commission is concerned only with the matters available to the

decision-maker at the time of making his decision,” Mr Dwyer stated.

Mr Brown conceded that he had acted disrespectfully towards his manager;

“The allegations Mr Brown faces are potentially quite serious and worthy of

the sanction of termination if proven, both collectively or individually,” Mr Dwyer stated in his decision published online on Wednesday.

“These reasons should not be construed as an indication that either party cannot successfully prove or defend the allegations, but there is work to be done on both sides before any final

determination is made.”