Former ANU vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell paid more than $400,000 in severance after resignation

Former Australian National University (ANU) vice-chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell received a severance payout of more than $400,000 after she resigned from the role in September, new documents have revealed.

The sum included more than $362,000 in taxable income plus nearly $62,000 in superannuation.

Professor Bell resigned from the top job less than two years into her tenure, following months of pressure from staff and students over a controversial plan to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a now-revised plan to save $250 million by January 2026.

ANU officials faced a Senate estimates hearing in October where they were questioned by ACT Senator David Pocock about the terms of Professor Bell’s resignation.

At the time, chancellor Julie Bishop told the committee the resignation package was “what she was entitled to under the contract of engagement as vice-chancellor”.

But a formal answer to that question, published on Tuesday, also revealed Professor Bell would earn $498,712 a year when she returns to the university as a distinguished professor at ANU’s School of Cybernetics for a five-year term, plus $84,781 in superannuation.

That includes 12 months of paid study leave, the documents show.

Upon her return from study leave, the package will also trigger a $200,000 research start-up fund, to be paid for by the ANU College of Systems and Society. It is unclear how the money will be distributed.

The cost of removalists to pack and move Professor Bell’s office belongings was paid for by the university.

The university will also spend more $9,000 on online security services for Professor Bell, with the same service covering interim vice-chancellor Rebekah Brown.