Langford Islamic College was one of six schools across the country that could have its federal funding frozen after an audit found governance and financial management issues.
This week the six schools, which were all affiliated with the Australian Federation of Islamic Council (AFIC), were issued with non-compliance notifications following an audit announced in May.
This morning Federal Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said the audit followed ongoing concerns about the schools’ financial management and governance arrangements.
“My focus is always that we, as the taxpayer, get maximum bang for our buck to improve education outcomes for Australian children,” he said.
“School governance should be of the highest standard and funding should be used for the benefits of students.
“This action does not come lightly.
“All schools must have effective management and accountability arrangements in place to support the best possible education outcomes for their students.”
Mr Birmingham said legislation requires all school authorities to operate not –for-profit, be a ‘fit and proper person’ and ensure funding provided was used only for school education.
The other five schools were the Islamic College of Brisbane, the Islamic College of Melbourne, the Islamic College of south Australia, the Islamic School of Canberra and Malek Fahd Islamic School in Sydney.
Each school had 28 days to respond to the notices and demonstrate how it would comply with the requirements of the act.
Penalties for the non-compliance could include the removal of Commonwealth funding for the six schools.
Langford Islamic College was contacted for comment.
