Baby killer Keli Lane’s schoolteacher partner to be reinstated after court action

The partner of convicted baby killer Keli Lane wrongfully lost his job at an elite Sydney school after using his work email for parole-related messages.

Teacher Patrick Cogan took St Pius

Mr. Cogan, 50, was also accused of failing to provide what the school deemed an adequate medical report while taking personal leave.

The College alleged that the conduct “constituted a disregard for lawful and reasonable guidance” and that Mr Cogan was in breach of contractual duty.

However, in a decision taken on 1 April, FWC Deputy Chairman Tony Slevin ruled that neither Mr Cogan’s failure to inform the school of his media activities nor his medical certificate amounted to a breach of obligations.

“I consider Mr. Cogan’s dismissal to be harsh, unfair and unreasonable,” Mr. Slevin said in his decision.

He denied that Mr Cogan would have any negative impact on the University’s reputation because of his defense of Lane and his “commitment to his partner”.

Mr. Slevin ordered the school to reinstate Mr. Cogan and for the pair to reach an agreement over lost wages that must be repaid.

Lane was convicted in 2010 of murdering her newborn daughter in 1996 and the following year was sentenced to 18 years in prison with a non-parole period of 12 years and 5 months.

That decision would make him eligible for parole in 2024; but this was refused under NSW’s ‘No Body, No Parole’ laws.

The former champion water polo player has always maintained his innocence and was granted a specially supervised one-day release from maximum security Silverwater prison earlier this year to support Mr Cogan.

Mr. Cogan did not deny using his university email while helping Lane, the commission found.

The ruling said Mr Cogan told the commission he had agreed to stop using it for personal matters, but believed he was allowed to use it in relation to legal matters and used it for “matters relating to Ms Lane”, including “lawyers, psychologists, politicians, journalists and NSW Corrective Services”.

Mr Slevin said in his decision that Mr Cogan’s use of his work email was explained by his “unique circumstances”.

Mr Slevin also stated that the way the school contacted Mr Slevin was “unusual”, with three token letters being sent to him between May and October 2025.

“The College did not need to act with the enthusiasm it did,” he said.

“Mr Cogan was on unpaid leave. There was no obligation to fire him.

“Having received his response to the third letter of reasons, it would have been a simple matter of raising with him the College’s ongoing concerns on the three issues and requesting his response to them taken together to justify his dismissal.

“Failure to do so meant that he was not notified of the reason for his dismissal.”

Mr Cogan had offered to be dismissed to avoid any reputational risks, but the College refused, the court heard.

The college had argued that reinstating Mr Cogan was inappropriate given his ongoing conduct issues, that he had not been open about his defense of Lane and that the school could be exposed to reputational risk as a result of greater media attention.

The school said it “cannot have any confidence that it will co-operate with the College in managing any reputational risk should it be withdrawn”.

But Mr Slevin said in his ruling that Mr Cogan was “committed to his partner Ms Lane” and added: “It is clear that he has a similar commitment to his career and the College.

“From 2010, with Ms Lane’s conviction, and undoubtedly before, Mr Cogan was conscious of the need to balance his support for his partner with the potential reputational impact that support could have on the College.”