Brindabella Christian College paid for a $108 parking fine issued to the board chair and made a number of transactions with businesses involving directors or key management personnel, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has heard.
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Brindabella Christian Education Limited, which operates the school, is appealing a decision by the Education Minister which found the charity was not fit and proper to be an approved authority for a school and therefore imposed conditions to review its governance arrangements and financial situation.
Canberra firm Bellchambers Barrett conducted an audit of the school on behalf of the Department of Education in October 2020.
The school's lawyer, Tom Brennan, put to the report's author James Barrett that a number of sections of the report were amended at the request of the department.
Mr Barrett said he did have meetings with officials from the department as the report was being drafted but denied that he included recommendations at the department's direction.
"We were really concerned about the financial management of the school. We thought the time had come to refresh the board," Mr Barrett said.
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The report listed eight undisclosed related party transactions, noting that some of them could have been conducted under normal commercial contracts.
Mr Barrett said invoices showed the school paid a company called Solar Arena for solar panels for the roof of the junior school. Board chair Greg Zwajgenberg was a director of Eagle Vision Technologies, trading as EVT Energy, which was in a joint venture partnership with Solar Arena.
The school entered into a contract with an IT company owned by Brendan Major on June 10, 2019. The next day Mr Major was appointed as the chief financial officer of the school and on June 18 became the secretary of the school board.
Mr Brennan said the IT contract and the Solar Arena purchase did not constitute related party transactions. Mr Barrett disagreed.
Mr Brennan said some transactions, such as $5000 reimbursement for IT expenses, the payment of the $108 traffic infringement notice and advertising expenses, could have been a liability of the corporation.
Mr Barrett said a number of the transactions were unable to be accurately verified due to time constraints.
The hearing continues.
- An earlier version of this story had incorrect information about a fine Brindabella Christian College paid for its board chair. It was a $108 parking fine.
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Sarah Lansdown
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
