Senior City of Melbourne bureaucrat stood down pending internal review

A senior bureaucrat at the City of Melbourne has been stood down pending an internal review around their behaviour, with the council refusing to comment.

Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp has sought to oversee a new era at Town Hall since coming to office. Picture: Tim Carrafa

A senior bureaucrat at the City of Melbourne has been stood down pending an internal review in another headache for the powerful council.

Leadership at Melbourne’s Town Hall have gone to ground over the saga, which has been hotly-debated since the employee stopped coming into work last week.

The Sunday Herald Sun understands the staffer has stepped aside from their duties while council’s chief executive holds a review centred around their behaviour.

Despite multiple requests for comment, the City of Melbourne has refused to respond to questions about the probe under claims it does not comment on “internal staffing matters”.

The reviews looms as another major issue for the council as it has sought to move past a series of damaging scandals in recent years.

Since coming into office, Lord Mayor Sally Capp has sought to move the council into a new era after it was rocked by a major political scandal centred around her predecessor Robert Doyle.

Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Mr Doyle resigned in early 2018 after then councillor Tessa Sullivan made several claims of sexual harassment.

A report made public in 2020 also found he had engaged in “highly distressing” behaviour by touching a woman inappropriately at a black-tie event, with the council acknowledging there had been cultural issues.

But Ms Capp’s has also overseen controversies during her time in office.

Last year, they were forced to review their donations policies after the Sunday Herald Sun revealed former chief executive Justin Hanney received thousands of dollars in anonymous funds for a yacht race without declaring it.

Mr Hanney later quit his position.

Ms Capp was also slammed at the end of 2022 after she gave a speech suggesting that Covid “was good” for Melbourne.