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Islamic Schools Hit With Breach Notices From Federal Government

Six Islamic Schools Hit With Breach Notices From Federal Government
Fairfax Media

Six Islamic schools across the country have been slapped with non-compliance notices by the federal Department of Education over breaches of financial management and governance arrangements.

The six schools -- the Islamic College of Brisbane, the Islamic College of Melbourne, the Islamic College of South Australia, the Islamic School of Canberra, Langford Islamic College in Western Australia, and Malek Fahd Islamic School in Sydney -- are all operated by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC).

Those six schools are the only six that AFIC lists on its website.

Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said a review undertaken by the Department of Education and Training "had identified concerns over the governance, financial and accountability arrangements of the schools."

“In May this year my Department initiated a formal review into the six school authorities following ongoing concerns about their financial management and governance arrangements,” Senator Birmingham said.

“I am committed to ensuring that all school authorities meet the requirements of the Education Act to ensure that our taxpayer dollar and any private investment by parents is being spent as intended to benefit Australian students.”

A spokesperson for Senator Birmingham told the Huffington Post Australia that no further or more specific information could be provided on the exact nature of the breaches, due to legal proceedings, but a statement from Birmingham noted that "legislation requires all school authorities to operate not-for-profit, be a ‘fit and proper person’ and ensure that funding provided is used only for school education."

Each school now has 28 days to respond to the notices, with penalties for further non-compliance including the axing of federal funding for the school.

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