University of Melbourne considers appeal after being forced to re-hire professor who sent ‘intimate’ texts to student

Melbourne University is considering an appeal after being ordered to re-hire a professor and pay him $28,000 after sacking him for sending “intimate” and “highly inappropriate” texts and emails to a student.

The University of Melbourne has been forced to rehire a professor who sent inappropriate messages to a student. Picture: Daniel Pockett

The University of Melbourne is considering an appeal following a court ruling forcing it to rehire a professor fired for sending “highly inappropriate” messages to a student, including a photo of himself in boxer shorts.

Engineering professor Stephan Matthai will be paid $28,098 and has the right to return to his $226,000- a-year post despite the university stating that it had “lost trust” in his ability to “behave appropriately”. He was terminated in December 2024 for sending 141 pages of “intimate” texts and emails in 2017.

While a Fair Work Commission ruling stated the university’s decision was justified, it found that punishment was too “harsh” given his “unblemished record” in the years since. A spokeswoman said: “The University of Melbourne is disappointed in the decision by the Fair Work Commission to order the reinstatement of Dr Matthai following his dismissal in December 2024. The University is considering its options to appeal the decision, and will not comment further on this matter at this time.”

University of Melbourne has been forced to reinstate Professor Stephan Matthai.

It comes after Dr Matthai told the student he was supervising at the time: “I like it when our souls touch. This is very special” and described a Facetime session as a “moment of bliss”.

In response to a message from the student asking, “Can I love you German professor,” Dr Matthai replied, “You do not need my permission, do you?”

Another message he sent her read: “It is great to share my feelings with you, to cherish the beauty of life together and to feel our attraction where there has been a void in our lives, but I do not want to create any expectations apart from the great company we can give to each other.”

The student said Dr Matthai wrote to her about his relationship break-up, how beautiful his girlfriend was and about their sex life.

The exchanges were conducted on private emails, with Dr Matthai telling the student this was so there was “nothing to be seen by UoM internet security people”.

The University is considering its options to appeal the court ruling. Picture: University of Melbourne

The student soon after asked to swap supervisors and the university only became aware of the messages in January 2024 when the student made a complaint about him.

The student alleged Dr Matthai had sexually harassed her and in 2017 asked to have a “sexual relationship until he can find someone adequate for himself”, but that she had rejected this, and that he had started “bothering” her.

These claims led to a university investigation which concluded the messages amounted to serious misconduct.

The University concluded that Dr Matthai should be terminated without notice in November 2024 because his behaviour was unprofessional, inappropriate and overly personal, in circumstances and against policies governing professional relationships.

The Fair Work Commission judgement says Dr Matthai “admitted misconduct” and that “with the benefit of hindsight, he should have been more abrupt and direct with her, or simply not responded to her first personal email”.

Deputy president Coleman concluded that it was “harsh to dismiss Dr Matthai for misconduct that had occurred so long ago, in circumstances where he had maintained an unblemished record over the following seven years of his employment”.

But he noted that: “I find that Dr Matthai accepts that what he did was wrong and is genuinely sorry for his misconduct in 2017”.

Dr Matthai told university investigators he had acted unprofessionally and said that his judgment had been adversely affected by his emotional state at the time.

He said that he “deeply regretted his conduct, and that in the eight years that had passed, he had learned to improve his emotional wellbeing”.

Originally published as University of Melbourne considers appeal after being forced to re-hire professor who sent ‘intimate’ texts to student