Honi Soit can reveal a cosy and undisclosed arrangement for the president of Sydney University Sport and Fitness (SUSF)—a house on campus for well below market rates. The house, modestly described as the “Union Cottage”, sits conveniently between Ovals 1 and 2 on Western Avenue and has long gone unnoticed by many on campus.

For the past 18 years Bruce Ross (President of SUSF for 24 years) has been the beneficiary of the cosy arrangement. Repeated attempts by Honi to confirm with Ross, or with SUSF’s Executive Director, Robert Smithies, the details of or justification for the arrangement have gone largely unanswered.

While we don’t know what Ross paid for 16 of those years, financial reports submitted to the charity regulator suggest that for at least the past two years Mr Ross has paid a relative pittance in rent for the property—about $16,461, or $316 a week. Rents for comparable free standing houses of similar size in the area run from about $560. A room with a shared bathroom in a college near the house sets students back over $520 a week (though admittedly that includes meals).

In stark contrast to the other facilities owned and leased by SUSF, the cottage is not mentioned directly in its financial report. The rent paid for it appears to be listed as “property” income of around $16,461 in 2014, under the entry: “grounds”. Honi Soit has put the figure to Ross and Smithies on multiple occasions, and neither has taken the opportunity to deny it, or explain why it is not clearly identified, like SUSF’s other rental arrangements. While Ross and Smithies were unwilling to respond to questions about Ross’s occupancy, Honi is confident the figure is accurate.