Former TasTAFE chief executive Stephen Conway has received a payout of $188,000, after resigning amid allegations of misconduct and nepotism.
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TasTAFE’s 2016-17 annual report comes in the wake of a damning Integrity Commission report in May that found Mr Conway had offered favourable treatment to then deputy chief executive Lori Hocking.
Mr Conway was said to have given Ms Hocking a payrise, paid for her rental accommodation and air travel and provided her with bonus payments on each anniversary of her appointment to the role.
The Integrity Commission also found that Mr Conway and Ms Hocking had awarded an $18,000 consultancy contract to a friend of theirs.
WLF Accounting and Advisory is conducting an audit of TasTAFE following the Integrity Commission report’s publication.
The state government is under pressure to release the audit’s quarterly findings.
In the 2016-17 financial year, Mr Conway received a $70,000 bump in his salary compared to the previous year, bringing it up to $251,000.
With the $180,000 payout following his resignation, Mr Conway received a total of $496,000 in remuneration for the past year.
Ms Hocking received $176,000 for the year, which included a $33,000 pay rise.
She was also awarded $43,000 in “other benefits”.
TasTAFE interim chairwoman Nicola Morris and interim chief executive Mark Sayer described 2016-17 as an “undeniably difficult period”.
The annual report stated that the TasTAFE board treated the Integrity Commission’s findings “with the utmost importance”.
“The board recognises the importance of the WLF audit to TasTAFE and is committed to acting upon all recommendations,” the report read.
Education and Training Minister Jeremy Rockliff welcomed the increase in students at TasTAFE, up from 26,138 in the previous year to 26,333 this year.
Mr Rockliff said Mr Conway’s payout figure was in line with the contract negotiated between Mr Conway and the previous Labor government.
Opposition education spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne said the payout raised “extremely serious, but basic” questions for Mr Rockliff to answer.
“The only way to clear this debacle up is for the government to release the former chief executive’s contract so Tasmanians can see for themselves any terms and conditions that would have permitted this payout,” she said.
On Thursday, the government appointed Jenny Dodd as the new TasTAFE chief executive.
She will commence in the role in early 2018.
