Powerhouse Parramatta was meant to reshape Sydney’s cultural map. Now its leadership is under scrutiny

The chief executive who has spent seven years overseeing one of Australia’s most ambitious cultural infrastructure projects has stepped aside , just ten weeks before it was due to open.

Lisa Havilah was appointed chief executive of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, now known as Powerhouse, in 2019.

She became inseparable from its transformation: defending its direction through parliamentary inquiries, delivering its Parramatta home, and advancing a model that challenges what a museum should be.

From cultural controversy to governance scrutiny Havilah’s departure comes amid NSW government investigations into what officials describe only as “governance and procurement” at the museum.

It is understood to have stemmed from a protected whistleblower disclosure first reported in October last year.

The precise allegations remain undisclosed.

In March, Havilah was questioned in parliament over reported budget blowouts on the Parramatta build.

She denied any overruns, insisting Parramatta and the Ultimo revitalisation at the museum’s original inner-city site were both being delivered within budget.

But procurement was already under sustained scrutiny before any of this became public, including a parliamentary question last year about whether contracts had been split to avoid competitive procurement thresholds.

To this, the museum’s written response was a flat “No”.

As Havilah’s steps down, former government architect Abbie Galvin will become interim chief executive from September 1, with former Sydney Opera House chief Louise Herron joining as strategic adviser.

Powerhouse Trust president David Borger confirmed the Powerhouse’s November 7 opening will be unaffected.

What can we read into Havilah’s departure? A protected disclosure initiates a process, not a finding.

Havilah’s standing aside is likewise neither a finding against her, nor an admission of responsibility.