The whistleblower who was sacked for trying to expose rorting in the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) says she is desperate to get her old job back.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found former deputy SES commissioner Tara McCarthy was cut by commissioner Murray Kear in May 2013 after she raised questions about dubious contracts and possible misconduct by then deputy commissioner Steven Pearce, who was Mr Kear's friend.
She had been in the job for just nine months when she was escorted from SES headquarters.
Mr Kear, who is in line for possible criminal charges, tendered his own resignation on Thursday.
Ms McCarthy said it was "appropriate" that Mr Kear step down - in line with ICAC's recommendations - but it was not enough.
She said if she remained sidelined despite vindication from the ICAC, it would send a message to other would-be whistleblowers in the public service that they would not be protected.
"The justice of all this must be reinstatement," she told AAP.
"If that doesn't happen, how do you send the message to people that it's safe to do what I did?"
It has been a tough year for the career public servant, who has been out of work since she was sacked from the SES.
"I've got two teenage boys who have been living and breathing this with me and they just want to see me get my job back. They're proud of me," Ms McCarthy said.
She will be a step closer to learning her fate on Thursday afternoon, when she is set to meet senior bureaucrats, including the NSW public service commissioner.
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