Boss of racing regulator sacked after alleged unwanted ‘massage’, documents reveal

The chief commissioner of the state’s greyhound racing watchdog was accused of giving a female staff member an unwanted massage before he was sensationally sacked by the Governor of NSW.

The allegation against Alby Taylor, who was stood down from his position leading the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission in June for “misbehaviour”, can be reported after documents tabled in the parliament were unredacted.

The Herald can also reveal a GWIC staffer accused of misconduct allegations, including sharing pictures of a colleague in a bikini and using racial slurs, is senior steward Kevin Adams. Adams resigned from the racing regulator in June.

The revelations are the latest issue to mire the scandal-plagued regulator, after this masthead previously revealed the premier’s top bureaucrat had intervened to order an urgent probe into workplace culture and governance issues at the agency. Recently, the auditor-general also found penalties for serious animal cruelty breaches were reduced because GWIC took too long to investigate.

In a media release issued after questions from this masthead, acting GWIC CEO Matthew Tutt said the commission condemned “abusive, sexist or discriminatory” behaviour and said it was not tolerated in the workplace.

“The Commission wants to make it abundantly clear that it condemns this sort of behaviour in the strongest possible terms,” Mr Tutt said.

“We are incredibly proud of our small but diverse staff and actions such as this cannot, and will not, be tolerated at any time in any part of our workforce.”

In file notes seen by this masthead, employees reported seeing the alleged interaction between Taylor and a female staff member during a January workshop scheduled to discuss the findings of the Drake Report and the statement of expectations made by racing minister David Harris.

At this workshop, a staff member reported to a colleague that Taylor had massaged her on the shoulders in a way that made her feel “really uncomfortable and uneasy”, the file notes said.

Another staff member said the alleged incident was especially worthy of reporting due to the “power imbalance” between Taylor and the staffer, according to the file notes.

In June, Harris released a statement announcing the appointment of a new acting chief commissioner, saying of Taylor’s exit: “The former Chief Commissioner was removed from office by the Governor of NSW following a workplace investigation into alleged misbehaviour.”

In response to questions from the Herald , Harris said all allegations were taken seriously and formally investigated.

“On 31 March 2026, Premier’s Department Secretary Simon Draper commenced an independent inquiry into the administration and management of the Office of the Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission. The report is currently being finalised, and it would not be appropriate to provide further comment while the inquiry is ongoing,” Harris said.

The file notes also detail several allegations of inappropriate behaviour by senior steward Kevin Adams. Stewards travel around the state investigating breaches of racing rules and overseeing race events and drug testing.