Brindabella Christian College wind up action ends with payout for parents

Hannah and Peter Griffiths claimed some direct debt payments had been duplicated and lump sums for school fees had not been properly receipted by the school.

The parents initially took Brindabella Christian Education Limited, the charity which operates the school, to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The school did not respond to the claim so the tribunal made a default judgement the school owed the parents $17,487.35.

Ms Griffiths filed an application to the Federal Court for the charity to be wound up on grounds of insolvency when the school did not respond to a statutory demand to pay the debt.

Board chair Greg Zwajgenberg said the school had "unfortunately missed" the ACAT hearing and that the family actually had a debt with the school.

"The wind up action in relation to Brindabella Christian College was always going to go nowhere," Mr Zwajgenberg said.

"We were in the middle of getting the matter set aside in ACAT when our relief receptionist received the statutory demand and it was inadvertently filed.

"Following 21 days we were served with the wind up action instead of what should otherwise have been a cordial discussion to deal with the matter. In good faith, despite the debt we were owed, due to the fact that we missed the relevant deadlines, we then offered to pay the $17,000 claim, however, we were then advised that an additional $7000 in costs were supposedly incurred.

"As a result, in the end we paid the family $24,000, despite the fact that there was a genuine debt owed to the college. We now consider the matter closed, and sadly the way the matter that was handled once again resulted in negative media coverage distorting the facts of the case."

The school's audited financial statements for 2021 and 2022 have not been published on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits commission website. The 2021 financial report was due on June 30, 2022 while last year's report was due on Friday.

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The school agreed to a number of conditions on its approval after appealing against federal government regulatory action through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

"The publishing of the 2021 and 2022 Audited Financial Statements by the ACNC will be in accordance with our legal obligations, and the Minister for Education has been personally advised of our timing on this in keeping with our obligations under the AAT directions, as has the minister on all other requirements as directed by the AAT decision," Mr Zwajgenberg said.

An Education Department spokeswoman said the department monitored approved authorities compliance with legislation and regulations and took action in instances of non-compliance.

"The department continues to work with Brindabella Christian Education Limited to ensure it meets the obligations of the Australian Education Act 2013, including the conditions outlined in Administrative Appeals Tribunal orders," the spokeswoman said.

"The department values the co-operation of approved school authorities in administering the requirements of the Act and the Australian Education Regulation 2013, and we will not comment further on the specifics of any individual assurance and compliance matter."

The school's 2020 financial statement was uploaded almost two years late and showed the school made a $3 million loss that year. The auditors, Saward Dawson, said they were unable to gather enough evidence to form an opinion on whether the school was able to continue as a going concern.

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