The head of the ACT Education Directorate is taking legal action against the territory's Integrity Commission over its investigation into the Campbell Primary School expansion, a move the government says it has "no knowledge of".
The ACT Integrity Commission is examining why Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire decided to award the school's refurbishment contract to Lendlease.
That decision effectively overruled the advice of a tender evaluation team, which deemed Manteena the preferred contractor.
The commission held public hearings last year, during which Ms Haire said she didn't seek legal advice when she overruled the tender evaluation decision, but that in hindsight, she wished she had.
It's now been revealed that Ms Haire is suing the commission and its commissioner, Michael Adams KC, alleging apprehended bias in the investigation.
Ms Haire launched the action on September 1, before she first appeared at the commission's public hearings.
The court documents show Ms Haire wanted to stop the commission from holding public hearings into the matter, completing its investigation, and preparing a report.
"A fair minded reasonably informed lay observer might consider that the [commissioner] is not or might not approach ... [the investigation] with a sufficient level of impartiality and is not open to persuasion," the court documents read.
'Government not involved'
Education Minister Yvette Berry said she only became aware of the legal action launched by her director-general when it was reported in the media today.
Ms Berry said the government was not involved in the legal action and any questions should be directed to Ms Haire.
"I'm not part of the process and neither is the government and any questions about what's happening need to go to the people who have put in the claims,'' Ms Berry said.
"I have no knowledge of the matter and the government has no knowledge of the matter."
But ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said the Attorney-General was made aware of the court proceedings in September and the government still had questions to answer.
"I think that it's an incredibly important question for the ACT government to confirm for the public whether it is the ACT government, and ultimately the ACT taxpayers, that are footing the bill of the plaintiff in these Supreme Court proceedings," Ms Lee said.
An ACT government spokesperson said the government was assisting Ms Haire with the cost of her legal representation at the Integrity Commission but was not involved with her court challenge.
"Public employees who are the subject of legal claims or inquiries arising out of the course of the performance of their duties are entitled to seek assistance in relation to their legal representation pursuant to the Law Officers Legal Services Directions 2023,'' the spokesperson said.
"The Territory agreed to assist Ms Haire with the cost of her representation.
"The Territory is not a participant in the legal proceedings commenced by Ms Haire in September 2023 and has no involvement in those proceedings."
Integrity commission continuing investigation
In a statement, the ACT Integrity Commission said it had engaged lawyers to defend the court action launched by Ms Haire and was continuing the investigation into the Campbell Primary School expansion.
"The Commission is defending the matter and has engaged external legal counsel to act on its behalf. This legal action has not hindered the investigation,'' the statement said.
The commission will hold a public hearing on July 8 to receive submissions from Counsel Assisting the Commissioner and, in response, counsel on behalf of interested persons.
The ACT government did not respond to a question from the ABC about whether the attorney-general or other ministers had been aware of the legal action before it was reported in the media.
The lawsuit is scheduled to go before the ACT Supreme Court in November while the commission is due to hold its next public hearings into the Campbell Primary School procurement process in July.