The recent Canberra Times front page article about the investigation of the ELC at Charnwood shows yet another regulator forced to engage with the school’s lawyers, having to expend considerable effort to substantiate their reasons for investigating the College or the actions they have taken. 

Parent school fees and our taxes are being diverted from education and care at Brindabella to funding the Board’s many legal battles.  

Recent FOI documents reveal literally every regulator, engaged in assessing the schools legislative and regulatory compliance, is being challenged by a number of different law firms engaged by the BCC Board.  Publicly available correspondence between the regulators, College and its lawyers show them:

• Challenging the findings of the Education Directorate’s 2019 Authorised Persons Inquiry and compliance action;
• Challenging the issuing of Improvement Notices in 2019 by ACT Work Safe;
• Challenging CECA’s specific application of legislation requiring a Fitness Reassessment to Board Members – the FOI shows the date the Board Chair was required to sit reassessment, but rescheduled two days before due to personal reasons, is the same date the Board terminated the Jayatilaka brothers enrolment;
• Challenging and escalating their own complaint to the Director General about CECA’s handling of the 2019 investigation of the ELC;
• Questioning the Education Directorate about the relevance of parent/staff complaints to their compliance with registration;
• Challenging the regulator’s refusal to release details of complainants and complaints;
• Challenging the relevance of needing to demonstrate to the Directorate their compliance with S.75 of the Act which requires (i) promoting the partnership between home and school and (ii) parents, teacher and student participation in all aspects of school education, BCC Lawyers claiming s.75 “does not impose any obligation BCC” it is principles only.

We also understand they have challenged the jurisdiction of the ACT Human Rights Commission in regards matters concerning minors.  The HRC and College are still engaged in negotiations.

Please contact the regulators listed below.  It is important they know our children are affected by all of this.

Please share with them any impacts on children, toddler or babies during or following your time at the College or ELC.

ELC & OSHC regulator: Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA) & (ACQECA) https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-law-regulations/national-regulations

Ph 6205 2012 available from 7.30am or Ph 6207 1114

complaintsceca@act.gov.au

K-12: ACT Education Directorate – Registration of Schools under the Education Act (2004)

Lynda Tooth – Head of Non-Government Schools Ph: 6205 5429

Or Education Directorate Contact Form (via Access Canberra) via email:  https://www.education.act.gov.au/about-us/contact_us

ELC & K-12: Department of Employment, Skills and Education (DESE) (Federal regulator)

Schools Assurance Office

Commonwealth Assurance of Funds/Fit & Proper Persons under Education Act 2013

Ph: 6240 8758

schoolsassurance@dese.gov.au

ACT Human Rights Commission Ph: 6205 2222

Jodie Griffiths-Cook – Public Advocate and Children and Young People Commissioner

Promotes and protects the human rights and welfare of all people living in the ACT.

Email: human.rights@act.gov.au

Worksafe ACT

Ensures the physical, psychological and emotional safety of workers, and others at the workplace.  A CMTEDD FOI (2020-033) shows at an Inspection carried out during November 2019, three Work Safe Inspectors were told by the Board Chair and Acting CFO, “no complaints have been submitted to BCC regarding bullying and harassment”. 

Andrew Woolgar or Matt Davis:  Inspectors of BCC

andrew.woolgar@act.gov.au or Commissioner: Jacqueline.agius@act.gov.au

ACT Department of Fair Trading

Fair Trading is responsible for enforcing Australian Consumer Law and is currently inviting contact from parents at the College.  They are assessing the possibility of unfair terms in BCC’s Enrolment Contract.  (think company not education - parents collective rather than individual cases)

https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/2269/~/fair-trading

Julia.Burns@act.gov.au  Ph: 0402 122 371  Ass Director of Investigations & Enforcement

Other key stakeholders you could reach out to include:

• ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry - berry@act.gov.au
• ACT Leader of the Opposition Ms Elizabeth Lee - LEE@parliament.act.gov.au
• Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan - dan.tehan.mp@aph.gov.au