Federal funds to be revoked from non-compliant Islamic College of South Australia

The Federal Government has announced that an internal review has reaffirmed the decision to revoke approval for access to Federal funds for the Islamic College of South Australia. The school has been notified of the decision.

The Internal Reviewer is a senior officer who was independent of the original decision. The Internal Reviewer considered all previous information provided by AFIC Schools (SA) Limited (ASSL) (the approved authority for the Islamic College of South Australia) and new information provided in their internal review application.  While some progress was demonstrated, based on all the available evidence, the authority remains non compliant with the requirements of the Australian Education Act 2013 and the additional conditions on their approval.

"It is disappointing that after the number of chances this school has been given and the constructive work the Department has been doing with the authority since November 2015 the school has still failed to meet the reasonable standards and expectations placed on them," Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said in a statement.

"This decision has not been taken lightly. However the Department was left with no choice. The school authority is not meeting the strict conditions placed on them in April 2016, which included obligations around improvements to governance and financial management and regular reporting on progress in making the required changes."

There has been a constant turnover of Board members at this school since 2015. As the entity responsible for the school, the current board must take responsibility for all decisions past and present.

"My Department’s concerns centre on the Islamic College of South Australia’s independence, financial management and governance arrangements."

Principal Kadir Emniyet told The Adelaide Advertiser he had been sacked by text message on Wednesday morning, and that the school has been insolvent for a fortnight and cannot pay staff.

The approved authority has 28 days to seek an external review through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). ASSL was notified of the decision on Thursday, 15 June 2017.