'This is serious': Berry orders Brindabella Christian College to prove it's compliant

Education Minister Yvette Berry has delivered an ultimatum to Brindabella Christian College to get its house in order or face serious consequences.

Ms Berry wrote to the private school, which has a main campus in Lyneham and a smaller one in Charnwood, on 3 September, giving it six weeks from then to provide a plan for and evidence of it meeting a raft of conditions to comply with its regulatory obligations.

She said the regulator within the Education Directorate had advised of breaches to compliance around governance and financial viability, including how the board had been reporting for the school.

“I can’t say what that will look like and what I’ll need to be convinced by,” Ms Berry said. “I’ll need to see that evidence and then make a decision following that.”

In April, it was revealed that the Administrative Appeal Tribunal had imposed conditions around governance and financial reporting in an agreement with the Federal Minister for Education.

The school had appealed a 2021 finding by a delegate for the Minister that Brindabella Christian Education Limited was not a “fit and proper person” to operate the school, which receives more than $10 million a year in public funding.

Ms Berry is taking action under a new regulation after changes to the Education Act designed to improve non-government school compliance.

She said this was the first time it had been used.

“So we’ve been making sure we’re getting it right,” Ms Berry said.

“And we’re getting it right for both the government and the Education Directorate, but also for the school and, importantly, the school community and those students that attend there.”

But the situation was quite serious now, she said.

“There’s no more beating around the bush on this one,” Ms Berry said.

“We do have to take it seriously, but we also have to be mindful of the impact of any kind of drastic action that we might be required to take.”

Ms Berry would not canvass what action the government could take if the College board failed to provide the required evidence.

She said the matter was in the board’s hands.

The school’s enrolment continues to increase each year despite its small campus at Lyneham, and at last count, there were 1167 students.

When asked whether she was concerned about the growing enrolment despite the size of the campus, Ms Berry said: “I’ll be advised by the regulatory body and the regulator within the Education Directorate about whether or not they are complying and have the space for students and that they are complying with the range of regulations that they are required to.”

The school is behind in its reporting to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, with both its Annual Information Statement and Financial Report for 2023 overdue.

Last week, it failed to provide updated and corrected plans and drawings of its Lyneham campus to the Planning Authority as agreed at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 2 September, when it also agreed to remove unapproved demountable buildings from its campus.

That occurred on 7 September. It will need to return to ACAT on 25 September.

On Tuesday (17 September), the school is in the Supreme Court fighting for more time – until the end of next year – to prepare and get a development application approved to stave off having to rip up its unapproved sealed car park.

It is also believed the school has until 30 September to renew its lending facility. One of the conditions imposed by the AAT was for long-term funding to be secured.

The Independent Education Union also pursued the school in the Fair Work Commission for unpaid superannuation to teachers. That action was withdrawn after the school made undertakings to the union.

Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews said it appeared Brindabella had paid the correct amounts of superannuation on time for the quarter up to 28 July.

“The IEU is continuing to monitor and assist members to check that their full entitlements are being paid.”

The school has not yet moved to fortnightly payments, as agreed. The next payment is due on 28 September.

The school reform group said it was better that the ACT Government led the regulatory action against the school because the Commonwealth’s approach could be lengthy and drawn out.

“The new Education Act allows them to take action specifically against the proprietors,” a Reform BCC spokesperson said.

But this would be a test for the legislation to see just how strong it was.

“We want to see this managed in a controlled way,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve got teachers and students that shouldn’t be disrupted.

“Surely there’s a way the school can keep running even in a caretaker situation while a proprietor is dealt with separately.”

Board chair Greg Zwajgenberg said in a statement that Ms Berry had been misinformed by her staff, particularly the Registrar of Education, Sean Moysey.

Mr Zwajgenberg said that at a time when several compliance issues were raised with the Minister, he was overseas but, on his return, had made repeated attempts in vain to meet with Mr Moysey to address these concerns.

“The Witness Statement, which forms the basis of the current review of our registration, was issued by the Commonwealth to Minister Berry on 21 June and refers to an assessment conducted earlier in May,” he said.

“Since then, we have informed the [Federal] Minister for Education, Jason Clare, and his team that all conditions, except for the ICT Plan and the audit confirming completion, have been addressed.

“We also notified Minister Berry and Mr Moysey of this progress but have yet to receive a response.

“I share Minister Berry’s concerns, expressed in her interview today, that this is indeed a serious issue.

“The misinformation surrounding this matter has significantly hindered our efforts to refinance the College’s loans for both existing and new infrastructure.

Mr Zwajgenberg said Reform BCC’s actions through ACAT had further complicated the situation.

“Their recent attempt to reduce 50 per cent of the College’s Lyneham classrooms through an ACAT appeal against an Access Canberra decision is both irresponsible and vexatious.

“In response, we have relocated two contentious demountable classrooms and received approval for four new classrooms, which were installed earlier this year.”