Transport bureaucrat Nick Foa steps down after yacht race donation probe

A mate of the City of Melbourne CEO has resigned after being embroiled in a yacht race crowd-funding saga involving $35,000.

The Department of Transport’s head of transport services, Nick Foa, has stepped down. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A senior public servant has resigned from his role in the Department of Transport following a probe into $35,000 of largely anonymous donations raised for a yacht race.

Nick Foa, the department’s head of transport services, has left his role after a confidential review of his fundraising.

In July, the Herald Sun first revealed City of Melbourne chief executive Justin Hanney, who earns $534,000, had created a crowd-funding page to cover “crew, equipment and costs” for a yacht owned by himself and Mr Foa to sail in the Sydney to Hobart race.

This page, run by the Australian Sports Foundation, included anonymous donations of more than $4500 and $9000 and raised concerns about whether the two should have declared them under strict rules covering public officials.

Mr Hanney later admitted he should have disclosed the money and returned it.

Following the report, the department conducted its own review of the fundraising and its ­relationship to Mr Foa.

The details of the review are confidential, but since this process was concluded the senior public servant has resigned.

“Nick Foa has resigned from the DoT to spend more time with his family,” a spokesman said.

“We thank Nick for his contribution to transport and wish him all the best for the future.”

City of Melbourne CEO Justin Hanney. Picture: Aaron Francis

Mr Foa was previously chief executive at the Suburban Rail Loop Authority and as head of transport services played a senior role in his section underneath secretary Paul Younis.

The role was once filled by Jeroen Weimar and oversees key issues, such as passenger, disruptions and on-time ­performance.

Transport, as with all other departments, has strict policies regarding the declaration of gifts and benefits.

Alarm bells about the fundraising were not raised initially because it was not related to Mr Foa’s job, and Mr Hanney also said he did not believe his interest in sailing related to his job as City of Melbourne chief executive. The internal review was launched after it was reported by the media.

The Herald Sun is not accusing Mr Hanney and Mr Foa of impropriety, but the fundraising raised questions about how disclosure policies should cover anonymous online crowd-funding.

The revelations prompted the City of Melbourne and the department to review whether the page broke their policies.

Mr Hanney recently shared posts of a sailing trip in Europe. Picture: Instagram

The department’s rules require gifts of more than $50 to be ­declared and public servants, who can play a role in awarding lucrative contracts, must avoid conflicts of interest.

This includes preventing any “real or perceived” conflicts and avoiding anonymous donations.

Donations to individual state politicians are capped at $1080, or $4320 per term, and any donation of more than $1080 cannot be anonymous.

The Australian Sports Foundation is a crowd-funding website set up to encourage participation, and solicits donations for disabled and disadvantaged athletes along with professionals.

On the donations page set up by Mr Hanney, he mentions that Mr Foa introduced him to yacht racing.

“Last year we purchased Protagonost, a Benteau first 40 to compete in a S2H (Sydney to Hobart) yacht race,” the page says.

“In five years time, Nick and I plan to race in the Melbourne to Osaka race. The funds raised will be sued (sic) to support equipment, crew and costs associated with the S2H.”

The race was cancelled ­because of Covid restrictions.