ICAC hears phones wiped as corruption probe deepens around Catholic schools chief
Dallas McInerney has admitted he factory reset his work phone and iPad over the weekend, even as New South Wales corruption investigators pressed him for
Dallas McInerney has admitted he factory reset his work phone and iPad over the weekend, even as New South Wales corruption investigators pressed him for messages that could be central to their probe. The sidelined Catholic Schools NSW chief told the Independent Commission Against Corruption he wiped the devices because his bank account had been compromised through his Apple ID and Apple Pay.
The admission landed after investigators asked him to produce communications between himself and Liberal Party operatives at the heart of the inquiry. For ICAC, the timing matters. For McInerney, the explanation is simple: “factory reset is a factory reset.”
Three days in the witness chair
McInerney has spent three days being questioned by ICAC over allegations linked to illegal donations to the NSW Liberals. He stood aside temporarily as chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW after the commission announced it was examining whether the organisation made donations arranged and approved by him that were not declared, exceeded the legal limit, and were used for Liberal Party recruitment or membership renewal.
The hearing has placed a familiar modern problem under a harsh legal light. Phones and tablets carry work chats, private messages and app histories, often all at once. When those devices are wiped, the trail can disappear with them.
That is why the commission wanted the messages. And why the factory reset has become the point of friction.
A reset under scrutiny
McInerney told ICAC he carried out the reset over the weekend after concerns about his banking security. He said the issue involved his Apple ID and Apple Pay. The devices, however, may also have held material relevant to the corruption inquiry.
ICAC has not disclosed what, if anything, it can still recover. The commission’s focus remains on the alleged donations and the role McInerney may have played in arranging and approving them. The hearing continues to test how much of the digital paper trail can be reconstructed, and what the loss of those messages means for the wider probe.
The next steps will likely turn on what evidence investigators can still obtain from other sources, and whether the wiped devices leave a gap too wide to bridge.
