Australian MP slams charity watchdog's handling of Hillsong's compliance failures
Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the Australian Parliament, has dismissed the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission as a "toothless tiger" for accepting a remedial plan from Hillsong College to do better after an investigation found it failed to meet several compliance standards.
"The commission is effectively saying it will forget about the extraordinary alleged wrongdoing in Hillsong so long as the church promises to be good from now on," Wilkie told The Daily Telegraph.
"The ACNC's inaction, and that is exactly what this response has the effect of demonstrating, just goes to show that in Australia (the church) can apparently spend a congregation's donations like a Kardashian and the regulator is powerless to do anything to stop them."
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Last month, the ACNC accepted an 18-month enforceable undertaking of the college run by the Hillsong Church network in an effort to maintain its charity registration, according to a legal document.
The proposal came after the ACNC found issues with Hillsong College related to reporting obligations, financial and operational record keeping, governance standards and compliance with ACNC's External Conduct Standard, which regulates how charities manage their finances and activities overseas.
If the charity is found to be in breach of the enforcement undertaking, the ACNC could get a court to enforce the terms of the agreement. If the charity still fails to meet the terms of the agreement, criminal charges could be levied.
In March 2023, armed with reams of financial records and genuine Hillsong Church board documents he received from a whistleblower, Wilkie accused Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston and other church leaders of money laundering, tax evasion and shopping sprees that would "embarrass a Kardashian."
He pointed to a document in 2021, for example, showing that four members of the Houston family flew to Cancun, Mexico, for a luxury retreat lasting three days and billed the church $150,000 for it.
Other records showed how church officials spent lavishly on a $6,500 Cartier watch for Houston's wife, Bobbie, $2,500 in Louis Vuitton luggage, a $2,500 watch for Phil Dooley, two watches worth $15,000 for Joel and Julia A'Bell, shopping sprees for designer clothes at Saks Fifth Avenue and $16,000 for custom skateboards.
Hillsong College agreed to use church credit cards "only for charity" following the release of those documents, according to The Daily Telegraph. The wider Hillsong Church network also committed to "compliance agreements" with ACNC, saying it would "look for other ways to improve our practices," according to the report.
Wilkie said, "The response from the ACNC was pathetic," considering the significant allegations of financial misconduct and other abuses leveled against the Hillsong Church network.
He called the ACNC a "toothless tiger" a while insisting that "other authorities must now intervene" like the Australian Taxation Office.
"Where is the ATO? Where is AUSTRAC? Because serious allegations have been levelled against Hillsong, and damning material tabled in the Australian Parliament, and all of it apparently remains unscrutinized," he argued.
Despite Wilkie's criticism, Hillsong maintained in a statement last month that it will do a better job of complying with the ACNC's standards going forward.
"As part of those inquiries, and 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," the church said.
"We recognize that this is an important step to follow the governance improvements which we have set out in our regular church updates. We will continue to work with the ACNC and look for other ways to improve our practices."
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