Unqualified students at the Canberra Institute of Technology were being taught to fix electric vehicles using private hire cars unbeknownst to rental companies, a local member has said.
A public interest disclosure from a CIT staff member alleges the Electric Vehicle Centre of Excellence was allowing students to pull apart and put together private hire cars from companies such as Hertz, without the businesses' knowledge.
In a motion calling for better support for whistleblowers, independent member Thomas Emerson told the ACT Legislative Assembly on May 27 that the electric vehicles were invoiced as travel expenses, with "no procurement process, no testing and tagging, no safety assurance".
Vehicles were used for mechanical training, high-voltage battery work, and depowering and repowering, he said.
"This practice, the whistleblower states, has been approved by CIT management, despite posing significant risk of injury or death to staff, students and the general public, with electric vehicles that have been worked on by unqualified students being unknowingly hired and driven by members of the public," Mr Emerson said.
"CIT has done this both in the ACT and when delivering courses interstate."
Mr Emerson said the whistleblower made their formal public interest disclosure to CIT chief executive Margot McNeill in January 2026, after concerns had been raised with management throughout 2025.
"What happened when the whistleblower wrote to the CEO? Nothing," Mr Emerson said.
"The unsafe activities continued, there was no effective investigation or enforcement action, no known referral to the integrity commission... despite their disclosure referring to fraudulent procurement, maladministration of public funds, governance failures, and non-compliance with workplace safety and training obligations.
"The whistleblower indicates this is not an isolated incident, but rather that, 'There is an endemic culture within CIT of silence, of turning a blind eye to poor or unsafe practices, and of disdain toward those who raise concerns or question the practices'.
"Staff have been instructed not to openly discuss these work, health and safety breaches. Many executives believe and act as though they are accountable to nobody."
According to the whistleblower's statement, they "no longer believed the standard internal reporting mechanisms were effective" or that their reports had been appropriately investigated by April 2026, and approached Mr Emerson as a last resort.
"I'm not the only person within the public sector who feels they are unable to speak up or report serious wrongdoing. In my experience, many staff believe disclosures will not be acted upon and unsafe or unlawful conduct will continue," the whistleblower said in a statement.
"I am devastated that I've had to take this approach, but ultimately felt I no longer had a choice."
A CIT spokesperson said a complaint was received on January 9, and was acknowledged by the office of the chief executive.
"An additional two follow ups were sent to the complainant seeking additional information to assist with the investigation into the concerns raised," the spokesperson.
"An investigation commenced on Tuesday 14 January, in accordance with the CIT Students and community members complaints policy.
"CIT has collated all relevant evidence which will form the preliminary view of the complaint.
"EV training is an upskilling course and is available only to professionals currently in the industry with existing qualifications."
Skills Minister Michael Pettersson said he was made aware of these allegations in general terms on April 20 and had engaged with Mr Emerson since.
"Upon becoming aware, I sought advice from the public service on the allegations and any actions taken in response," he said.
"The ACT government has committed to a review of governance arrangements at CIT. I will provide further information on its terms of reference imminently."
Mr Emerson also sought to table a public disclosure statement from Brendan Moyle, former ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs executive branch manager, who raised concerns about systemic racism and discrimination in the territory public service.
In his statement, Mr Moyle said the impact on staff was such that he was doing a First Nations suicide prevention training to "do what I can to prevent a repeat incident that I've been advised of where a senior Aboriginal staff member from another directorate committed suicide".
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government supported Mr Emerson's motion, but slammed his attempt to table the public interest disclosure statements.
"I don't know whether this is going to fundamentally undermine now these public interest disclosures....I don't think anyone else here in this place does at this point, because we're not privy to the investigations that have been announced and are underway," Mr Barr said.
"The worst possible outcome would be that putting [the statement] out in the public arena undermines the very work that is being undertaken by the integrity agencies."
The matter will return to the assembly for further debate on Thursday, May 28.
