Cate Saunders: Former deputy secretary under investigation following $300k payment after raid

A six-figure payout to a senior public servant is under the microscope after a raid on Parliament House by the federal corruption watchdog.

The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) is investigating why its former deputy secretary, Cate Saunders, was given a $315,126 incentive payment to retire after her boss, Rob Stefanic, declared the duo had a close relationship.

Acting secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe revealed an independent “fact-finding investigation” had been launched into the department’s role in the payment, led by barrister Fiona Roughley.

“I’m hoping that it will be concluded before the end of this year, but we are just waiting for discussions with witnesses, and it will just depend on how long that period takes,” Ms Hinchcliffe told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday.

The department’s fact-finding mission is being run at the same time as an investigation by Federal anti-corruption officers, who raided the department’s offices in Parliament House on October 3.

“I can confirm the NACC (National Anti-Corruption Commission) executed warrants on the Department of Parliamentary Services,” Ms Hinchcliffe said.

Mr Stefanic has been on paid leave since October and Ms Hinchcliffe could not say when he would return.

Ms Saunders was transferred to fellow government agency Services Australia in March 2023, where she remained until her retirement from the public service in October that year.

Mr Stefanic denied the pair had had a romantic relationship at the last round of Senate estimates in May, but said he had declared a conflict of interest in August 2022 because of rumours surrounding the pair.

However, Ms Hinchcliffe said she was not aware of any documentation of the declaration, which had been made in a conversation with the Australian Public Service Commissioner.

“We’ve got no record of the declarations for this conflict, we’ve only got recollections,” said opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume.

“We’ve got inconsistent stories about who knew what and when.

“Do you think then that it’s acceptable ... that the record keeping is so inadequate?”

Ms Hinchcliffe, who was previously interim deputy commissioner of the NACC and integrity commissioner at the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, said she had seen a number of agencies with record-keeping issues in her time at oversight bodies.

“It is a common issue that is raised,” she said.

“It seems to be something that the public service can find difficult to get right.

“It will be an area of focus for us at DPS to ensure that we have got our record keeping policies and framework set properly, and that people are recording things where they should.”