Tim Lee was GM of Fair Work Australia from 27 July 2009 until 7 September 2011 a period during which no analysis was made of the credit card statements that held the core evidence to support the allegations against Craig Thomson.

The powers and responsibilities for ongoing matters held by his predecessor the Industrial Registrar pass to Lee.

The Industrial Registar ordered the commencement of a coercive investigation into the Thomson/HSU matter on 30 June, 2009.   Lee denies knowing that any such order existed.

The important thing that is known is that no investigation commenced at all until March 27 2010.

Part of the Industrial Registrar's operational plan and budget for the investigation included the engagement of an external accountant.   His  whose work was highly regarded by the other externsal professional adviser on the team, the Australian Government Solicitor's Craig Rawson.

Under GM Lee the external accountant's contract was not renewed and the professional accountancy skills lost to the team were not replaced.

Kathy Jackson lodged 4 boxes of credit card and mobile phone records with the IR on 18 June 2009 and that property was transmitted with the IR's assets and operations to FWA on 1 July 2009.

No financial analysis of the credit card statement material took place during the whole of Lee's time as General Manager.   The timing of any activity relating to analysis of the credit card statements matches perfectly the tenure of Mr Lee.   The documents arrived just before he did in answer to Doug Williams call for the evidence.   Williams had engaged specialist financial analytical skills via contract for the purpose of managing that and other evidentiary analysis.   Lee did not maintain that contract.   No analysis of the Credit Card statements took place until September 2011.   Tim Lee left his job as GM on 7 September 2011 and that's when the analysis commenced.

The primary allegations against Thomson were about the misuse of union credit cards.   Lee must take responsibility for the fact of no analysis on the credit card statements taking place during the whole of his two and a bit years in the job.   It's impossible to complete an investigation into allegations of financial fraud without adding up how money is involved.

Mr Lee's movements into that job and his sudden resignation from it and appointment to a lessser paid judicial role that took him out of the reach of an inquisitive Senate Estimates Hearing call for much greater scrutiny.