EXCLUSIVE: The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has made 27 recommendations concerning the Batchelor Institute in a report that only “aspects of” will be made public, while a whistleblower who had previously produced their own report into credible allegations of ongoing fraud and misconduct said they were not questioned as part of the watchdog’s review.

The 27 recommendations were mentioned in the Commissioner’s annual report where Michael Riches wrote that “a number of matters” had been raised in respect of the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and “many of the matters raised appeared to suggest” poor policy and processes.

“Rather than investigate individual matters, I decided to conduct a review of the organisation’s practices, policies and procedures…” he wrote.

“My review resulted in a report that included 27 recommendations, all of which have been accepted.”

In September last year, Mr Riches announced the review to determine whether improper conduct has occurred, is occurring, or is at risk of occurring. The ICAC and the institute both issued press releases about the “review” within minutes of each other after receiving questions from the NT Independent.

However the whistleblower, who has knowledge of the internal workings of the troubled training college, and another well-placed source, told the NT Independent the watchdog had already investigated based on information it inherited from the former Office of Public Interest Disclosures and produced am earlier report which has not been released.

At the time, ICAC ignored questions about the previous investigation and report, declining to say if it would be released. It is general practice for the ICAC not to comment on matters that may or may not be the subject of investigation.

The NT Independent understands the OICAC was looking into the institute from at least February 2021, just before allegations of misconduct and bullying by some senior managers at the college surfaced.

This publication is also aware of at least eight internal or external investigations, reviews or audits, at the institute since about August 2017, that examined all aspects of management, allegations of corruption, gross financial mismanagement, bullying, nepotism, and its toxic culture.

The whistleblower’s report that outlined credible allegations of ongoing fraud and misconduct at Batchelor Institute was given to then-chief minister Michael Gunner’s office in late 2019 – after it was requested by a senior ministerial advisor – but it appears the office took no further action.

It detailed 33 serious issues, including allegations that fraudulent qualifications paid for by governments were being handed out to staff, alleged rampant bullying and nepotism by some of the executives, executive contracts not being valid, and that the institute was considered by the Australian Skills Quality Authority of being at “high risk” of not meeting its national training accreditation obligations.

There were also allegations of stolen equipment, claims the institute was spending more money on executives than instructors, employed unqualified staff and that it could not provide student numbers per qualification awarded.

The whistleblower said they were not interviewed or contacted during the ICAC’s latest review.

Acting Commissioner Naomi Loundon did not respond to questions about whether the whistleblower had been contacted or if their report informed the review.

She said the Batchelor Institute review would not be published as there was no provision in the ICAC Act for it to be published, but said part of it would be made public.

“Commissioner Riches does intend to prepare a general report addressing that review and its findings. Once that report is tabled in Parliament, the aspects of the review will be publicly available,” she said.

Ms Lounden did not respond to a question about whether there was any mechanism in which ICAC could monitor the institute’s implementation of the recommendations.

Batchelor Institute did not respond to questions about the report.