Decision time: Brindabella Christian College parents and teachers need certainty, says reform group

The Brindabella Christian College reform group is calling on the ACT Government to provide clear guidance on the troubled private school’s future sooner rather than later.

The government confirmed this week that the Brindabella Christian Education Limited (BCEL) had responded to the Education Minister’s demand that it show proof of the school’s financial viability and governance standards.

It said the Registrar and Registration Standards Advisory Board was now analysing the material provided by BCEL and liaising with the Australian Government, which is also weighing up the school’s future.

“Any decision, or timing of a decision, on next steps is dependent upon analysis on the compliance of the material provided by BCEL,” a government spokesperson said.

Education Minister Yvette Berry said on Wednesday (13 November) that any decision she would come to would be based on the registrar’s advice.

She reiterated the seriousness of the situation but was also mindful of the impact her actions might have on families and students.

“The last thing we want to do is just close a school or disrupt any students’ learning,” she said.

“We need to be careful again about making sure the evidence that they’ve provided is appropriate, and if it’s not, then the ACT Government and the Australian Government will work together on a way forward.”

However, Reform BCC said in a statement that further delay, as the term neared its end and the Directorate went into summer recess, was only making it harder for families and teachers who need certainty now.

It wants a clear plan and timeline from the Minister about the next steps for the K-Year 12 school.

“Parents and staff at BCC are currently needing to make decisions about their children’s education and employment in 2025,” it said.

“Those on wait lists elsewhere are presently being offered places and parents must make decisions right now, not at Christmas.

“BCC has wonderful staff and teachers we don’t want to lose, but they have mortgages and bills to pay and need stability, too.”

Reform BCC said that due to the BCC board’s failure to return to a fit and proper state, the school’s funding and financing have been impacted, jeopardising the daily delivery of services and its solvency.

“The school community, funder and lender all need fit and proper governance returned to BCC,” it said.

“We’re keen for confidence from regulators and a clear plan and timeline of how they will be enforcing that this year, not next year.”

Ms Berry said she was still to see the material as most was submitted during the pre-election caretaker period, “so a lot of it just went straight through to the regulator”, she said.

“But that’s what their job is, to analyse that material to see if it meets with the requirements that I put on the school as far as providing evidence that they were delivering on the directions that had been given to them.

“Once that evidence is analysed, then the decision can be made.”

Mr Berry wrote to the board on 3 September, giving it six weeks to provide the required evidence.

Last week, federal education officials told Senator David Pocock in Estimates that the department’s four-year investigation into Brindabella Christian College was wrapping up.

The officials told Senator Pocock that the school had only recently provided the investigating team with additional information.

They said the school was not compliant and had failed to provide its audited financial statements for the 2023 financial year by the due date.

The department had already taken action against the school placing it on monthly payments instead of the usual three a year.

The school had also not complied with all of the conditions laid down by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in April last year as part of a settlement with the department, with only 20 of the 64 being met.

The BCEL board has also lost two members, putting it in breach of one of the conditions. The board says it is in the process of finding new members.

The school’s line of credit with its bank expired on 30 September but was extended on a month-by-month basis.

The department could decide on a range of penalties, from maintaining the school on monthly payments to more significant sanctions. The worst-case scenario would be a loss of funding, at present $10 million a year, and deregistration.

BCC operates two campuses, a main one at Lyneham and a smaller one at Charnwood. More than 1200 students are enrolled.