By Liz Lykins
In June 2020, graduates are pictured at Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Instagram)
An Australian commission placed Hillsong College, a ministry operated by the controversial Hillsong Church, on probation last week due to compliance concerns.
The Christian school failed to meet multiple compliance standards set up by the nonprofits regulatory organization, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), according to a statement from the ACNC.
The ACNC found the school had issues with reporting; financial and operational record keeping; governance standards; and its overseas records and financial management.
ACNC’s investigations into Hillsong Church and its ministries was prompted by bombshell allegations against the church. These allegations, which became public in 2023, accused the church of mass money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.
The ACNC has now announced an enforceable undertaking against the college, its statement said.
Hillsong Church in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (Photo: social media)
“An enforceable undertaking is a written agreement by a charity to take steps to meet its obligations under the ACNC Act and Regulations,” the statement read. “It is enforceable by a court.”
The college, which boasts more than 14,000 alumni from 63 countries, has 18 months to adequately meet the ACNC’s standards and requirements, according to a legal document on the undertaking.
Hillsong College agreed to a remedial plan from the ACNC in August to maintain its charity registration, the document said.
“To demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement in governance, Hillsong Church and its ministries have agreed to resolve the inquiries of the ACNC by entering into compliance agreements, and for Hillsong College by providing an undertaking,” Hillsong said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with the ACNC and look for other ways to improve our practices – so that we can continue to serve our community.”
Investigation of Hillsong College Started in 2022
The ACNC began looking into the college in 2022, after “public allegations of a serious nature were made about the Hillsong Church charities,” according to the undertaking legal document.
The ACNC noted that Hillsong college is deeply tied to the leadership of Hillsong Church charities.
“Hillsong College’s sole member is The Trustee for Hillsong International,” the document read. “The board of Hillsong College is comprised of the same individuals as the board of The Trustee for Hillsong International.”
Logo of the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. (Courtesy image)
The ACNC did not confirm publicly its investigation into the college until March 2023, the document said.
Now, the organization is asking the school to improve its record-keeping, financial management, transparency, and eliminate conflicts of interest.
For example, the ACNC is requiring Hillsong College to take minutes of any board or committee meetings and to create policies to address any potential conflicts of interest within leadership, according to the document. The school has also been given detailed guidelines for conducting large financial transactions.
The ACNC said that Hillsong College has already made changes to the composition of its board and started conducting reviews of its record keeping policies.
Through Hillsong College’s 18-month undertaking, it will provide the ACNC with progress reports at six, 12, and 18 months.
The ACNC added that it is considering the use of compliance agreements for some investigations into other Hillsong Church charities, according to the document.
Hillsong Church’s Financials Under Fire
Hillsong Church has been under fire in recent years from a firestorm of allegations.
In March 2023, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie told the Australian Parliament that the church had engaged in mass money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud, and used church money “to do the kind of shopping that would embarrass a Kardashian.”
Wilkie alleged that Hillsong earns $80 million more annually than it reports. He also said that founder Brian Houston and other church leaders live luxuriously living large on the church’s money.
Hillsong Church founders Brian and Bobbie Houston. (Photo via Facebook)
They treat “private jets like Ubers,” and once even used $150,000 of church funds for a “three-day luxury retreat in Cancun, Mexico.”
Houston argued the allegations are “either out of context, misleading, or false.”
Other U.S. Christian celebrities were implicated in the exorbitant spending allegations, TRR reported.
Wilkie claimed Hillsong paid honorariums to Christian celebrity Joyce Meyer of $160,000, $133,000, $100,000, and $32,000. Similarly, Pastor T.D. Jakes received $77,000 and $120,000 in honorariums, “with a staggering $77,000 worth of airfares to and from Australia thrown in.”
This fall, founder Houston asked for money to help with the launch of his online church venture, TRR reported.
Houston and his wife said they’ve “got desperate needs” for a TV studio for Jesus Followers TV. The ministry, which premiered in July, aims to serve as an “online platform and church . . . a trustworthy voice of hope and inspiration in the days ahead.”
Comment by Truth Uncensored Afrika: Read more about the evils of Hillsong in our E-book, DOMINIONISM … THE RACE TO RULE THE WORLD.
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