NT ICAC Operation Tasman: Senior public servant found to have misused leave entitlements

‘Btw, tomorrow is a mental health day’: On multiple occasions an executive on a $200k plus salary called in sick to instead go fishing, play golf, and take interstate trips to the casino.

The Northern Territory anti-corruption watchdog has found an executive public servant on more than $200,000 salary engaged in corrupt conduct by chucking sickies to holiday interstate at the casino, play golf, or go fishing.

The Northern Territory anti-corruption watchdog has found an executive public servant on a more than $200,000 salary engaged in corrupt conduct by chucking sickies to holiday interstate at the casino, play golf or go fishing.

The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption released its final report into Operation Tasman on Tuesday, identifying 15 instances when the unnamed man misused leave between January 2018 and May 2021.

On six occasions the Darwin man claimed sick leave without a medical certificate, and a further nine times he was found to have taken a day off without ever applying for or logging the absence.

Emails sent and received from his work account revealed the executive planning fishing trips in advance of sick days, included photos of trips, and detailed flight and accommodation bookings.

Financial records also showed his spending at various locations on the relevant days.

In one example, on June 29, 2020, the executive sent an email to a colleague stating he was unwell and would not be in, submitting an application for personal leave without a medical certificate.

Five days earlier he had sent an email to a family member with the subject line “feel like a fish on Monday”.

On one occasion in 2018 the executive took an unexplained day off to play golf at the Alice Springs Masters Games.

During a voluntary interview with the ICAC, when he was made to go through every documented incident, the man was shown a photo from a different fishing trip taken on a day he called in sick, to which he responded: “Yeah, and I don’t look that sick there”.

He agreed recreation leave would have been more appropriate for the occasion.

On multiple occasions he travelled to Brisbane for a long weekend stay at the Star Casino.

In July 2018, when he was absent from work and did not apply for leave, he emailed a family member: “Btw (by the way), tomorrow is a mental health day just in case someone talks to you”.

Other unexplained days off included a trip to attend the Masters Games in Alice Springs to play golf and a trip to Litchfield National Park.

The man was a level 2 executive contract officer, for which the salary band currently starts at $247,170.

Emails also showed him on occasions instructing staff on how leave was to be correctly submitted.

“Just not keen if people supplement rec leave with sick days,” he wrote to a colleague in May 2018.

Acting Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Naomi Loudon. Picture: LinkedIn

Deputy ICAC Commissioner Naomi Loudon found the six cases of claiming sick leave instead of recreational leave was “inconsistent with the reasonable expectations of the behaviour of a person in a senior leadership position”.

The nine cases of not logging leave were “objectively dishonest”, she found.

“This is not a matter of providing further training. The public officer demonstrated … that he was aware of the various leave entitlements.

“It is concerning that a person in the public officer’s position, with over 20 years’ service in the NTPS acted in the way he did.

“His conduct is dishonest and he has abused the trust placed in him to be a leader in his public body.

“The public officer’s conduct represents a serious and persistent breach of the terms of his contract and is reasonable grounds for dismissing or terminating his contract.”

The ICAC report was sent to the man’s boss and the Commissioner for Public Employment.

Originally published as NT ICAC Operation Tasman: Senior public servant found to have misused leave entitlements