Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has sounded a defiant note in response to a finding that she had engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” while in office by the state’s integrity watchdog.

Ms Berejiklian thanked the public after ICAC found she had breached the voters’ trust by never disclosing her secret relationship with an MP who was running corrupt schemes from his office in parliament, even when awarding large sums of public money to organisations in his electorate.

“Thank you to members of the public for their incredible support,” Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday, hours after ICAC released its long-awaited report into allegations against the former NSW premier on Thursday.

“This will sustain me always.”

Ms Berejiklian said she had never been motivated by anything other than service to the people of NSW.

“Nothing in this report demonstrates otherwise,” she said. “The report is currently being examined by my legal team.”

Ms Berejiklian’s closest colleagues had no idea corrupt former MP Daryl Maguire was her boyfriend, even as they collectively decided to approve multimillion-dollar grants of taxpayers’ money in his electorate.

Two organisations in Mr Maguire’s country NSW electorate of Wagga Wagga, a clay target shooting range and a conservatorium, received seven-figure grants from the state government after he lobbied for them.

The conservatorium was awarded $10 million and the gun club more than $5 million after a meeting of the NSW cabinet’s small and powerful expenditure review committee.

Optus released a short statement backing Ms Berejiklian, who became a managing director for the telecommunications giant after she was forced to quit politics by the corruption scandal.

“Optus acknowledges the ICAC report published in relation to Gladys Berejiklian’s time serving as a [NSW MP],” it said.

Another former NSW premier, Mike Baird, later testified that he was “incredulous” when he learned that Ms Berejiklian had not disclosed her relationship to the committee when the grants were discussed.

“WTF,” a senior adviser to Mr Baird wrote after reviewing the proposal for the shooting centre, which he recommended declining because it was a bad use of public money.

“Ms Berejiklian engaged in serious corrupt conduct by breaching public trust,” the corruption watchdog found.

However, no charges were recommended by the ICAC, which was established to hold public inquiries into corruption in government with the aim of restoring public trust. It is not a traditional law enforcement or judicial body.

Ms Berejiklian has kept a low public profile since she resigned as the inquiry emerged more than two-and-a-half years ago.

Despite the urging of former colleagues, she turned out only once for this year’s NSW election campaign, posing for a photo on Instagram with former NSW cabinet minister Stuart Ayres and his wife, NSW senator Marise Payne.

Ms Berejiklian has previously totally rejected questions about integrity under her government.

Earlier, in her time as premier, it was revealed that 96 per cent of grants dispensed by her government before a state election went to politically crucial seats.

She admitted having written to staff encouraging them to get “cash out the door in the most politically advantageous way” but noted that pork barrelling was not illegal.

ICAC did refer Mr Maguire for possible misconduct in public office charges, after numerous findings that he also engaged in serious misconduct between 2012 and 2018 and used his office to line his pockets.