I run a large Catholic education body. Post-ICAC, this is what needs to happen

August 17, 2026 — 7:30pm

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Not long ago, I was asked to join a panel on crisis management at a Catholic Schools NSW symposium. Between the invitation and the event, news of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Rosny broke. The timing was awkward, but I think it’s good that the conversation went ahead. Here are a few thoughts about why the Catholic Church belongs in the public square, even when it’s an uncomfortable place to be.

How did the Catholic Church’s peak educational body, responsible for the distribution of billions of dollars in NSW, end up being the subject of Operation Rosny? We don’t know what other information the ICAC holds and we don’t know where the inquiry will eventually land. Despite the process still having much left to explore, we can, however, identify practices and processes that fall short of “good” governance.

Here is where the Catholic Church is in NSW – the reputation of education service delivery in NSW may well be in tatters in the eyes of many........

© The Sydney Morning Herald