John Allman sues state for compensation after being sacked over Ultranet affair

A DISGRACED senior education official at the centre of the $240 million Ultranet project and “banker schools” affair is now using his sacking to sue the state for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

DISGRACED senior education official at the centre of the Ultranet project and “banker schools” affair is now using his sacking to sue the state for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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John Allman, who was secretly taped by Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) investigators discussing the destruction of evidence, was sacked in April 2015 over his role in the scam after being examined at a public IBAC hearing.

Mr Allman has claimed the sacking left him mentally incapacitated for work and has demanded ongoing weekly compensation payments backdated to his departure.

He is taking the state to court after being refused workers’ compensation on the grounds that the actions, which caused his mental injuries, were reasonable. If successful, his claim could cost taxpayers more than $500,000.

John Allman is suing the state for more than $500,000.

Mr Allman is one of a number of Education Department officials who could face criminal charges after Victoria’s watchdog found that they had corrupted the tender process for the Ultranet IT portal and wasted as much as $240 million. The project was dogged by delays, failed on launch and was dumped in 2013.

Among IBAC’s findings was possible insider trading after four education officials, including Mr Allman, purchased almost $10,000 of shares two days before the tender was publicly announced.

Mr Allman was also linked to the use of “banker schools” in a financial system that was the subject of a separate IBAC probe in which he was secretly recorded by IBAC investigators.

He was recorded telling colleague Nino Napoli not to mention Silverton Primary School to IBAC investigators. Silverton PS in Noble Park was Mr Allman’s “banker school” used to funnel department funding for schools.

Education department officials John Allman and Nino Napoli discuss the IBAC probe. The conversation was recorded.

“Mate, nothing has come up on Silverton, so don’t f---ing mention that,” he was recorded saying.

Mr Allman was sacked after telling IBAC he threw documents detailing financial transactions of Silverton PS into a bin at Bunnings in “a panic” after learning he was being investigated. Some $500,000 had been transferred to Silverton for discretionary spending.

“The banker school arrangement has never been a legitimate practice of the Education Department so clearly I had something to hide,” he said.

According to Mr Allman’s County Court statement of claim, he suffered mental injury as a result of being publicly sacked without warning immediately after his “stressful” cross-examination.

Mr Allman claims the department’s refusal to provide promised psychological counselling or treatment also contributed to him suffering depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

The writ claims Mr Allman has had to pay his own medical expenses, with his claim for workers injury compensation rejected on the ground that the mental injury he suffered “was caused wholly or predominantly by management action taken on reasonable grounds and in a reasonable manner”.

John Allman was sacked after telling IBAC he threw evidence away. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

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He was also recorded discussing the destruction of evidence with Geelong-based education boss Matthew Dunkley, where Mr Dunkley asked Mr Allman whether he had “deleted that
s--t” and “got rid of it all”.

According to Mr Allman’s statement of claim filed with the County Court, he suffered mental injury as a result of being publicly sacked without warning immediately after his “stressful” cross-examination in front of a large media contingent “who knew or appeared to know of the sacking” before he did.

Mr Allman, who had worked his way up from being a student teacher with the department in 1972 to a regional director, claims the department’s refusal to provide promised psychological counselling or treatment also contributed to him suffering depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

The writ claims Mr Allman has had to pay his own medical expenses, with his claim for workers injury compensation rejected on the ground that the mental injury he suffered “was caused wholly or predominantly by management action taken on reasonable grounds and in a reasonable manner”.

In addition to backdated weekly compensation payments, Mr Allman is seeking medical expenses, costs and any further relief the court deems appropriate.

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