A professor who was dismissed for sending romantic messages and a photo of himself in boxer shorts to his PhD student has achieved another legal win.

Professor Stephan Matthai, formerly a Geotechnical Engineering academic at the University of Melbourne, had his employment terminated in December 2024.

Prof. Matthai, now 63, faced dismissal after it was revealed he had sent romantic texts and a suggestive image to a female PhD student back in 2017.

However, the Fair Work Commission found the dismissal to be unreasonable, citing that the university had been aware of the misconduct for several years.

Deputy President Alan Colman ruled that waiting seven years to terminate Prof. Matthai was excessive.

The university has been allowed to appeal this decision, arguing that the appeal is in the public interest.

Lawyers acting for the university set out numerous grounds of appeal challenging the deputy president’s findings on harshness, reinstatement and the professor’s ‘insight’ into whether his interactions breached the university’s Appropriate Workplace Behaviour policy.  

But this week the bench rejected them all, concluding that Deputy President Colman, in weighing harshness, had not strayed ‘outside the range of reasonable discretionary decisions’.

Professor of Geotechnical Engineering Stephan Matthai continues to be backed by authorities 

The University of Melbourne is recognised as one of the nation’s top universities

‘A different decision-maker may have come to a different conclusion as to whether, in all the circumstances, the dismissal of [the professor] was harsh and therefore unfair,’ it stated.

‘As the deputy president acknowledged, the misconduct was serious, particularly having regard to the nature of the relationship between a senior academic and a PhD student, and at least aspects of his conduct were “highly inappropriate”.’

But the bench agreed with the weight Deputy President Colman put on the professor’s clean professional record following the incident.

‘If he had been dismissed at the time the misconduct occurred, when he was 55, he may have had more opportunities for re-employment,’ Mr Colman said.

The matter traces back to 2017, when an unnamed PhD student who had received a scholarship to study in Melbourne started working under Prof Matthai’s supervision.

Their exchanges began as professional, but quickly became romantic.

In a string of heartfelt messages, Prof Matthai opened up about his recent break-up and responded to a poem from the student with one of his own.

‘We are like the dry soil soaking up the autumn rain after a long hot summer. It is very beautiful and caresses our souls, but it should not give you pain. You know that I am barely coping with the separation from [omitted],’ he wrote.

Their exchanges moved to personal email and private video chats, with Prof Matthai deliberately avoiding university channels to dodge detection from those he described as ‘UoM internet security people’.

‘It is our very own private conversation… and yes, we have the pleasure of getting a glimpse of this together and it is really a beautiful reawakening,’ he wrote.

‘We share this on a deep intuitive level.’

The pair messaged back and forth for two months, with Prof Matthai sending the student a picture of himself in his boxer shorts.

The tribunal deemed the messages to be ‘inappropriate and unprofessional’ but not grounds for dismissal.

Despite the university being informed of the messages in 2017, Prof Matthai was allowed to continue in his role until his sudden dismissal in late 2024.

The tribunal took particular issue with the university’s delay in acting, stating that it had effectively condoned his continued employment.

No further concerns arose during the following years.

Professor Stephan Matthai was struggling with a break-up when he sent the messages 

Prof Matthai argued that during that period, he was struggling with a difficult break-up, which impacted his judgment.

He said he tried to manage the student’s expectations after realising she had developed feelings for him. 

In 2018, the student told the university’s HR department that Prof Matthai did not have appropriate boundaries and that some of his comments made her feel uncomfortable, but she did not want to make a formal complaint as she was worried it could jeopardise her PhD, The Age reported at the time.

Years later, in January 2024, the student made a formal complaint about Prof Matthai to HR.

Among other things, she alleged Prof Matthai had ‘sexually and mentally abused her’ for 14 months.

The university hired an external investigator, who analysed 141 texts and emails, which included declarations of love by the student for Prof Matthai.

Sexual harassment was not part of the investigation, and Prof Matthai denied any abuse.

The professor’s legal win saw him reinstated to his $226,000 position.