A report to creditors has uncovered poor governance and mismanagement at Brindabella Christian College, including hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on a robot dog and overseas trip.
The report, by administrators from Deloitte, detailed how the Canberra school made questionable decisions, such as spending $460,000 on a robot dog and a trip to the United States, yet failed to pay teachers and school staff on time.
IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews said members at the school will be “disappointed but not surprised to see the extent of mismanagement and poor governance outlined in the report”.
“I think at the time, our members were really upset and frustrated about the way the school was being managed, but I’m sure they didn’t understand the full extent of the problem,” Matthews told ABC Radio Canberra.
Clearly insolvent
The administrators found the company behind the school, Brindabella Christian Education Limited, was insolvent from at least January 2021, and company directors may have breached their duties under the Corporations Act on multiple occasions.
The report noted the trip to the United States to secure the purchase of the robot dog included three days at the Kentucky Derby and took place “at a point when the company was subject to significant financial distress”.
“These costs were incurred at a time when the company was clearly insolvent and had accrued $2.1 million in unpaid SGC [Super Guarantee payments],” the report said.
The administrators also said political donations of $30,000 to the Liberal party between 2021 and 2024 breached regulations prohibiting registered charities from supporting political parties.
The report also raised concerns about the school’s invoicing process, where an 11 per cent discount was given for early fee payments “without proper recognition of this in the Company’s accounts”.
“There are real questions about the practice that developed of encouraging parents to pay fees in advance at a discount and then showing that in the year in which they were received, even though there would be a liability to provide the education in the following year,” Matthews told ABC Radio Canberra.
Creditors to be repaid
Brindabella was placed in voluntary administration in March owing millions of dollars after the IEU took the school to the Fair Work Commission over unpaid wages and superannuation.
In April, Deloitte announced the school would be taken over by education provider Christian Community Ministries (CCM), which paid $30 million for the school.
Despite the mismanagement uncovered by the administrators, it is anticipated that creditors will be repaid in full.
Matthews said the union hoped the transfer of ownership of the school to CCM would allow members to focus on educating and caring for students without worrying about whether their wages and entitlements are paid in full and on time.
“The union acknowledges the loyalty of members to the school during this difficult period,” Matthews said.
“The union is sure that members will be very relieved that the school is now on a more stable footing under the ownership of CCM.”