Lena Karmel Hall at the Australian National University (ANU) is seen in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 13, 2021. AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Australian National University (ANU) Chancellor Julie Bishop and senior leadership have been accused of bullying, harassment, and hostile behaviour by a former elected member of the university’s governing council.
Liz Allen, a demographer at ANU, made the allegations on Aug. 12 before a Senate committee investigating governance and financial accountability across the higher education sector.
Allen, who served as the staff-elected representative on the council until her resignation in April, said she had been subjected to “threats, intimidation, and bullying” since 2024 after pressing for more stringent oversight of council conduct.
She described the alleged behaviour as “devastating.”
“I was bullied into near suicide. I miscarried a much-wanted baby,” said Allen, who broke down during the testimony.
She alleged she had been denied promotion opportunities, left uncertain about her job security, and seen her career prospects collapse.
Allen further alleged that Bishop had been “hostile and arrogant” toward staff, and said that when former Brian Schmidt was vice-chancellor, he acted as a moderating influence on Bishop’s conduct.
Claims of Misconduct and Intimidation
Allen also accused current Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell of misleading the council “on numerous occasions,” and alleged that ANU leaders “behave with impunity, keep council in the dark, and fail to adequately disclose conflicts.”
She described a two-hour meeting in February during which Bishop allegedly accused her and an undergraduate council member of leaking confidential matters, linking it to “improper and illegal activity.”
Allen insisted she had “never leaked confidential council business.”
Following that meeting, Allen claimed Bishop confronted her in private, berated her, floated the idea of a legal investigation, and suggested calling a journalist to confirm she was not the source of leaks.
Allen alleged that Bishop “laughed incredulously” at her visible distress and physically blocked her from leaving the room.
Allen told the inquiry that the incident left her struggling to breathe and walk.
Later that day, Allen told the inquiry, she pulled over on her drive home and prepared farewell messages for her children and partner before a phone call from her husband stopped her from taking her own life.
Two weeks later, she said, she suffered a miscarriage.
