A former senior NSW bureaucrat who gave lucrative contracts to the family of a colleague with whom he was "infatuated" has told a corruption inquiry he was unprofessional and incompetent but denied it was a fraud.

Anthony Andjic, a former assistant director in the state Justice Department, is being investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption over allegations he did favours for the object of his affection, Fatima Hammoud, and her family.

The commission has heard Mr Andjic deleted a series of ardent emails to Ms Hammoud, a more junior officer in the department, including romantic song lyrics he penned himself and declarations that he would "die" for her.

Asked if he awarded $1.3 million in court refurbishment contracts to inexperienced companies owned by the partner of Ms Hammoud's sister because of his romantic interest in her, Mr Andjic said he may have done so "subconsciously".

"You're saying it wasn't conscious at all?" Commissioner Megan Latham asked.

"Not consciously like 100 per cent, 'Oh, I need to do this to impress Fatima', but probably subconsciously going to myself, 'If I, you know, do this it will impress Fatima,'" Mr Andjic said.

He said his desire to impress "maybe" occurred to the owner of the companies, Shadi Abou Chacra, who was then in a relationship and is now married to Ms Hammoud's sister Fayrouz. Mr Andjic and Fatima Hammoud were married this year.

Earlier, Mr Andjic was asked if he was favouring the companies because of his relationship with Ms Hammoud and replied: "Not just because of that."

He said it was "unprofessional" of him to award the contracts at least partly on this basis.

"It's a bit beyond unprofessional isn't it?" counsel assisting the inquiry, Grant Brady, said.

"Um, yes," Mr Andjic said.

He agreed he was "definitely" incompetent but said "I don't believe it's fraud".

The inquiry has heard Ms Hammoud's sister used a fake name, "Fay Rouze", when she was acting as the "public face" of one of the companies bidding for work from the state government.

Mr Andjic was aware she was using that name but said "I didn't feel the need to do anything in that regard."

He also didn't see a problem in appointing Fayrouz Hammoud to a tender evaluation committee deciding which contracts would be awarded to her partner's companies.

Commissioner Latham cautioned Mr Andjic that the "overwhelming effect" of the evidence was of a scheme by the two couples to "bypass" established government procedure for their own financial gain.

"To be blunt, you know the expression if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck?" Commissioner Latham said.

"I do," Mr Andjic said.

"Despite you wanting to rather regularly claim this is complete incompetence on your part, the overwhelming effect of this evidence is that you and Ms Fatima Hammoud and Mr [Abou] Chacra and Ms Fayrouz Hammoud were ... bypassing, subverting, established government procedure over a fairly limited period of time in order to personally gain from these contracts to the tune of about $1.3 million. You deny that proposition?"

"Yes," Mr Andjic said.

"Can you suggest what other possible inference might be available?" Commissioner Latham said.

"Looking at all the evidence and the like ... I probably should have been a bit more vigilant in regards to what I should have done," Mr Andjic said.

"I wholeheartedly take the blame in regards to this whole fiasco that's come about because of my I guess ... I know I can't call it my incompetence but that's what I see it as."

The inquiry continues.