An ICAC hearing is examining communications used by council staff while responding to a misconduct investigation. All three reports say Gail Connolly discussed the response to the investigation with a colleague and that she used personal email to communicate the plan. The evidence described includes discussion about setting up disappearing messages in an executive WhatsApp group used by council staff. According to the reports, Connolly told or advised a colleague about establishing messages that would automatically disappear from the WhatsApp chat. The ICAC is presenting this material as part of its assessment of how the council handled the misconduct matter, including whether staff communications were appropriate and secure. The reports focus on the use of personal email for work-related discussion and on the use of disappearing-message settings within a council executive WhatsApp chat. The outlets do not report any final findings or outcomes from the investigation at this stage, but they indicate the hearing is considering the communications themselves and their context within the council’s response process.