Documents recently made publicly available on the ACT Education Directorate’s Disclosure Log (EDU-2020-010) as a result of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request, state Brindabella Christian College (BCC) was found to have made multiple breaches of the Education Act 2004 in regards to registration and handling of complaints compliance.

Whilst the existence of multiple breaches is concerning and it appears some attempts have been made by the school to return to compliance with the Act, a couple of the breaches are particularly alarming.

In a Ministerial Briefing to the ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry on 20th September the Education Directorate sought her support to formally "request BCC demonstrate their compliance with relevant sections of the Education Act 2004”.  

In consultation with ACT Government Solicitors, the Minister was advised that the Authorised Persons Inquiry and visit found three areas of concern relating to enrolment of students at the school including:

(i) irregularities in the schools use of the student transfer record recording movements of student to and from the school

(ii) student movements impacting the schools financial viability, and

(iii) “The Schools enrolment policy provides for students being excluded should parents 'bring BCC, its Board Members, Staff or teachers into disrepute’. This policy position is contrary to s.105 fo the Act which outlines the reasons why a student may be excluded from an ACT NGS; and is potentially contrary to the student's human rights”.

Whilst other breaches have been resolved or are still the subject of ongoing investigations, BCC's enrolments policy remains unchanged on the school's website. Potentially hundreds of parents have signed contracts with BCC since it was introduced in 2018, without fully understanding the implications and that the school policy in fact breaches legislation.

From the Jayatilaka’s experience, it is clear the School Board has no hesitation in excluding innocent students from school without regard for the impact this has on a students well being, academic success or their school community relationships.

Why the Minister or Education Directorate have failed to protect students from such unlawful action at Brindabella is unclear. Deregistration of the school under the Act is the only action the Minister can take for a breach of legislation or failure to comply with the conditions of registration.  

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT)  certainly couldn’t assist the Jayatilaka’s when they brought this breach to the Tribunal’s attention in February stating they had no jurisdiction under the Education Act to hear the matter. 

How many children must be made the victims of the BCC Board's actions? As more staff leave and student enrollments continue to fall the future for BCC does not look bright. Change is needed at the top - for all our children's sakes.