Arabic version: تسوية استقالة الرئيسة التنفيذية لمعهد CIT تُقدَّر بـ445 ألف دولار

According to ABC News, Canberra Institute of Technology board chair Tom Rogers said former chief executive Margot McNeill received a financial settlement of about $445,000 when she resigned. Rogers said the amount was agreed after consideration of a range of factors, describing the exact figure as “$445,000 or something like that”.

McNeill, who was appointed CIT chief executive in June 2025, resigned on Tuesday after months of controversy. She had been on extended leave following revelations that she had not disclosed an investigation into misconduct during her previous role at TAFE NSW. In May, an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry found she should have disclosed information about the misconduct investigation or findings to the CIT board in a timely manner.

Rogers said CIT had accepted her resignation and was focused on moving forward and providing quality education to students. He declined to say whether the board had asked McNeill to step down, saying there had been a process and that the matter was now dealt with. He said he wanted to rebuild CIT’s reputation and “steady that ship and to move it forward”.

In her resignation statement, McNeill said leaving the “much-loved Canberra institution” had been a difficult decision, but was in the best interests of the CIT community, particularly students and staff, as well as her family. Her legal case against TAFE NSW remains ongoing in the NSW Supreme Court. Mitch Pirie was appointed acting chief executive last Friday.

Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said the resignation was a relief and called for governance reform at the public institution. Separately, the Public Sector Standards Commissioner confirmed it had received a referral on July 30 concerning CIT’s use of rental electric vehicles in student-mechanic training at the Electric Vehicle TAFE Centre of Excellence, and that an investigation had commenced.