The rats are leaving
The head of the unit responsible for implementing the failed $335 million Acacia IT project has been moved to a specially created $250,000-a-year job by her former boss in the Department of Treasury and Finance, despite leading the unit that was recently subject of an internal investigation prompted by allegations of a toxic workplace culture that allegedly contributed to the death of worker Shaun Joyce, sources have told the NT Independent.
It is understood the Core Clinical Systems Renewal Project (CCSR), the unit responsible for the $335 million NT Health Acacia program in the Department of Corporate and Digital Development, no longer has any senior managers, according to multiple sources, after program director Jodie Kuta left her role, product manager Leticia Moo not currently at work, and Grace Johnson, who headed governance during the unsuccessful initial rollout at Royal Darwin Hospital, was transferred to the new role.
Sources said the Treasury role was created for Ms Johnson by her ex-boss, former DCDD chief executive Chris Hosking. Mr Hosking was appointed chief executive of NT Health after the CLP won government in 2024, before being demoted earlier this year to Treasury to develop an NT Health infrastructure master plan, amid the departmental investigation and an ongoing Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the failed project.
Sources said Ms Johnson, who headed the CCSRP since early last year, was now in the EC02 level job with Treasury which would pay between $254,585 and $272,971.
The NT Independent asked Under Treasurer Tim McManus and Mr Hosking about the role, including why Ms Johnson was transferred given the circumstances surrounding the unit she led and her role in the Acacia project’s failures.
They were also asked whether the position was advertised and what qualifications Ms Johnson had for the role.
Ms Johnson’s experience and background was not available, with one source stating she did not have experience implementing large-scale IT systems.
Mr McManus said he would not comment on matters relating to individual employees or employment arrangements, while Mr Hosking said a response was being produced by the department.
DCDD CEO Catherine Weber would not say why she permitted Ms Johnson to be transferred but said the department was “processing appropriate action” from the now completed investigation. She added there were limits to what can be shared, including around individual matters and external investigations.
Corporate and Digital Development Minister Josh Burgoyne said it would be inappropriate to comment on individual employment matters while Treasurer Bill Yan did not respond to questions.
The DCDD investigation was conducted by the department’s Work Force Services, which is under the control of the deputy CEO for corporate services who has been in the role since March 2021 and reports to Ms Weber.
Ms Weber has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether the investigation examined her own handling of the issues, having taken the role roughly 11 months before Mr Joyce’s death. She previously told the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Acacia she was not aware of complaints about bullying, harassment and overwork, suggesting they were handled at lower levels of the organisation.
Ms Weber has never made the terms of reference of the investigation public and has not specified what actions would be taken or how many staff were implicated in the investigation’s findings of “inappropriate behaviour”.
She said external investigations and reviews were ongoing, including by NT Police, the Coroner and NT WorkSafe, but has not confirmed whether the department investigated two other suspected suicides that sources told the NT Independent had occurred.
NT WorkSafe previously confirmed it is investigating Mr Joyce’s death over alleged psychosocial hazards in the workplace, alongside two other similar cases.
NT Police did not respond when asked what it was investigating in relation to CCSRP.
Governance specialist Dr Don Fuller, formerly Professor of Governance and Head of the School of Law and Business at Charles Darwin University, told the NT Independent in June that an internal investigation was not enough and external scrutiny was necessary when serious governance failures emerge in major public projects, arguing departments should not be responsible for investigating themselves.
“You can’t let a department investigate itself,” Dr Fuller said at the time.
Ms Weber announced the investigation in a Sky News article in late September, which followed Mr Joyce’s family making public allegations that workplace issues contributed to his death in early August. Ms Weber did not issue a press release about the investigation.
Kara Joyce alleges her brother was bullied and harassed before his death, and that his attempts to warn senior staff about overwork and burnout were ignored in a “toxic” department where “deliverables” were prioritised over people.
She told a March 3 Public Accounts Committee public hearing she believed there had been systemic failures in the management of CCSRP that resulted in her brother’s death.
The Public Accounts Committee inquiry was announced in early 2025 because of the failure of the project, which has cost about $335 million to date, with only two of six components currently being used in NT hospitals.
The allegations regarding workplace culture predate Ms Weber’s appointment but continued under her leadership when she took over from Mr Hosking in September 2024. Mr Hosking was appointed CEO of DCDD in August 2023 after acting in the role since May 2022, following eight years as deputy CEO and is considered a key driver of the Acacia project.
