Embattled CIT chief executive Dr Margot McNeill has not been seen in her role for weeks but the board is refusing to say what has happened.
When asked a series of questions about the chief executive, a CIT spokesperson said: "It is not appropriate for the board to talk about employment matters."
A spokesperson for Skills Minister Michael Pettersson directed questions to the board as the independent governing body for CIT.
The Canberra Times attempted to contact Dr McNeill but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Australian Education Union ACT branch TAFE vice-president Karen Noble said staff haven't heard anything from the chief executive in the past few weeks.
"There has been a really loud silence," Ms Noble said.
Dr McNeill usually writes a weekly newsletter which is sent to staff on Friday afternoon.
The past two Fridays other members of the executive have written the newsletter without acknowledging the chief executive.
The board chair Tom Rogers has acknowledged in communication to staff that it continued to be a difficult time at the organisation but has not elaborated further. He expressed appreciation for the quality education CIT staff continued to deliver.
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Dr McNeill's tenure at CIT has been marked by controversy surrounding her previous employment at TAFE NSW and the recruitment process for her current role at CIT.
Dr McNeill was under investigation by her former employer regarding a conflict of interest over contracts when she was appointed the CIT chief executive in June 2025.
The NSW TAFE investigation eventually concluded that Dr McNeill had breached its code of conduct and led to her resignation being changed to termination on her file.
Legal proceedings regarding the termination of Dr McNeill's employment are ongoing in the NSW Supreme Court.
"I've been in the education sector for 40 years and am determined to defend my impeccable reputation," she said in a previous statement.
An ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry found Dr McNeill "actively misled" the CIT board by denying the TAFE NSW investigation's finding of misconduct in September 2025.
Dr McNeill said she believed aspects of the inquiry report contained factual inaccuracies and she did not accept the finding that she engaged in misleading or improper conduct.
Dr McNeill told a Legislative Assembly committee she was not able to disclose the TAFE NSW investigation to CIT through the recruitment process.
However, this was contradicted by TAFE NSW which said she did have permission to disclose any facts for circumstances connected with her employment.
Meanwhile, the CIT has faced declining enrolments and has failed to meet financial targets.
CIT missed its subject enrolment target by 11 per cent in 2025. Subject enrolments dropped by 28 per cent in the past five years from 111,464 in 2021 to 80,187 in 2025.
The CIT annual report attributed the decline in enrolments to flow-on effects of COVID-19 and a strong local employment market reducing the demand for training.
CIT posted an operating deficit of $28.3 million in 2025, which was $17.3 million worse than expected.
The annual report noted the "urgent need to review the operating model and profile planning activities to work towards restoring financial sustainability."
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