A multimillion-dollar charity which cares for Indigenous children removed from their homes has lost dozens of staff allegedly due to a “toxic” work environment, with its award-winning chief executive Heidi Bradshaw accused of perpetuating a culture that former staff labelled “vulgar” and “highly sexualised”.
Narang Bir-rong Aboriginal Corporation, which received nearly $9.5 million in state government grants last financial year, had three of its seven board members resign in May over concerns about the organisation’s operations as staff alleged they have developed psychological injuries from working there. NBAC called the board’s allegations unfounded.
The Herald has spoken to seven former staff, a former carer and a former board member who alleged a “toxic” culture where executives engaged in inappropriate conduct, including sexualised behaviour and sexual relationships with staff, with frequent staff parties involving heavy drinking.
Several questioned the company’s focus on events and corporate sponsorships when funded to support vulnerable children.
Bradshaw is accused of texting staff about which member of a sports team sponsored by the company she would like to sleep with, removing the belt of a government employee at a staff party and storing it in the office, and sexually grinding on staff at a work Christmas party.
Bradshaw currently serves on the Leukaemia Foundation’s board of directors, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and previously served on the boards of the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies and the Financial Legal Rights Centre. In 2021, she was a finalist in the Westfield Hero Awards.
Chief executive of Narang Bir-rong Aboriginal Corporation Heidi BradshawCredit: Sydney Morning Herald
The NBAC board, which spoke on behalf of Bradshaw, denied all allegations.
“All matters raised have been thoroughly investigated and have either been found to have no basis or have been resolved to the board’s satisfaction,” the board said in a statement.
“We have sought, and will continue to seek, appropriate advice, to engage with relevant authorities, and take steps to ensure the organisation operates with integrity and accountability.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Communities and Justice, which oversees out-of-home care, said it “takes seriously and reviews all complaints received regarding contracted out-of-home care providers”.
Sports sponsorships, lavish parties
When NBAC became accredited as an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation in 2019, separating it from its parent company and promoting Bradshaw to chief executive, staff celebrated at a party featuring an open bar, a $900 cake and inappropriate behaviour, with Bradshaw allegedly taking the belt off a government worker while dancing.
Multiple staff said the belt was stored in the office for years as a trophy.
“It was a highly sexualised workplace. A lot of people were inappropriate … but the CEO was the worst out of everyone,” one former staff member said.
The $900 cake to celebrate Narang Bir-rong’s certification as an independent organisation.
A 2021 Christmas party, where the company hired a bus, shows Bradshaw sexually dancing on a senior staff member. Another staff event that same year began with an open bar at 9am. One former senior staff member recounted seeing another senior staff member so drunk at a 2023 Christmas party that he was urinating on bushes in front of people.
The NBAC board said allegations of heavy drinking, intoxicated behaviour, or sexualised dancing were without merit.
The board said the staff member who urinated on bushes was told off by staff at a rural venue and that the $900 cake was funded by NBAC’s previous parent company, Barnardos. It said alcohol is served in line with Responsible Service of Alcohol policies, denied serving alcohol at 9 am, and said some events, including an event at a spa, were personal expenses.
Bradshaw’s dancing, the board said, involved a secondary “willing participant” at a social setting with long-term colleagues and friends.
“Bradshaw acknowledges that, in hindsight, it was not appropriate. Since then, she has remained mindful of her leadership role and the expectations that come with it.”
Its staff events, the board said, are funded via its staff wellbeing budget which equates to less than one per cent of its total employee expenses. Since 2021, NBAC has spent $105,800 on staff events.
In 2021 NBAC announced a sponsorship with Aboriginal rugby league team Orange United Sporting Club in NSW’s Central West. NBAC is funded to cover greater Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
Multiple former staff allege Bradshaw used the sponsorship to socialise with the players, organising staff getaways to Orange funded by NBAC.
Text messages between Bradshaw and another senior staff members allegedly show her rating which member of a football club sponsored by NBAC she wanted to have sex with.
The NBAC board said eight employees travelled to the region between 2020 and 2021 for sponsor-related events, including games and launch events, with travel and accommodation funded by NBAC, but rejected any inappropriate behaviour by Bradshaw.
The board said since the 2021 financial year, it has spent $105,800 on sports sponsorships, less than one per cent of the company’s total annual expenditure, and was drawn from the board budget.
The NBAC board said the organisation is “passionate about supporting other Aboriginal organisations” and uses sports sponsorships to strengthen ties with local Aboriginal communities and increase brand awareness, with funds used to host the rugby league competition, the Koori Knockout.
Since 2021 NBAC has spent $105,800 on sports sponsorships including sponsoring the Orange United Sports Club (pictured).
A ‘revolving door’ of employees
Dozens of staff have exited the workforce, with the NBAC board confirming 52 staff have left the organisation since March 2022. NBAC had around 50 employees in the 2023-24 financial year.
However, the board denied this was due to cultural issues, stating it has had a 98 per cent retention rate in the past 12 months.
The board confirmed one worker has successfully pursued a workers’ compensation claim, with a second claim lodged by another staff member. Both were for psychological injury.
“Narang Bir-rong has zero tolerance for bullying, harassment and inappropriate behaviour,” the boards’ statement said.
Narang Bir-rong staff flipping the bird to the camera shortly after the company gained its status as an Aboriginal Controlled Organisation
Other staff members raised concerns about the qualifications of those hired. One former staff member alleged Bradshaw hired someone with no qualifications that she had met on a dating app; another expressed concerns about a recruit’s refusal to take a drug test went ignored; while another staff member alleged a recruit with zero qualifications didn’t come into work multiple days a week and had to be managed out.
“They were so desperate for staff, and staff leave all the time,” one former senior staff member said.
Heidi Bradshaw was a finalist in the 2021 Westfield Local Hero awards.Credit: Facebook
The organisation currently has 12 positions advertised on Seek.
In 2023-24, $7.5 million of the company’s $9.7 million in revenue was spent on employee benefits. The company had 56 employees that year.
The NBAC board said it has a “robust and transparent” recruitment process with recruitment decisions assessed independently.
“We will not engage with misleading claims regarding Ms Bradshaw’s personal interactions outside the workplace, as they have no bearing on Narang Bir-rong’s professional hiring processes,” the board’s statement read.
Resignations
In May last year, board members Shaun Cumming, Matthew Lancaster and Brandon Etto submitted their resignations over alleged “egregious misconduct” by the organisation, including “numerous discrepancies” in the organisation’s financial records and operational management.
“These inaccuracies are not only alarming but also indicate a serious breach of fiduciary duty. The lack of transparency and accountability in financial matters raises significant ethical concerns and jeopardises the financial stability of Narang Bir-rong,” their joint resignation letter alleged.
Matthew Lancaster, Shaun Cumming, and Brandon Etto resigned from the NBAC board in May 2024.
Three board members also resigned or vacated their positions in 2021-22 financial year.
According to documents submitted to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, NBAC generated $9.7 million in revenue in the last financial year. The organisation ended the year with a $680,000 deficit, but in the previous three years combined NBAC recorded surpluses totalling $3.1 million.
The NBAC board said the surpluses were “essential for ensuring ongoing program delivery, operational stability, and long-term planning” and in line with its government contractual arrangements.
It said the organisation didn’t receive the number of children it had been approved to care for by the government, resulting in last year’s financial deficit.
NBAC uses charities such as Food Bank and runs toy drives to supply items to families and children in its care.
In their resignation letter the former board members also alleged their votes were “blatantly ignored” and mismanagement led to “chaos and inefficiency”, and that they had witnessed intimidation, bullying and harassment.
“Frequent outbursts, derogatory or defamatory comments, and lack of basic courtesy create a hostile work environment that is both demoralising and unacceptable. These blatant disregards for professional conduct is a clear violation of workplace standards and basic human decency,” the members’ resignation letter states.
The NBAC board said issues weren’t raised during the former board members’ tenure. The government didn’t investigate the issue further due to lack of supplied evidence.
This masthead is not suggesting this conduct has occurred but rather that the allegation has been made.
Spending ‘not appropriate’
All seven staff, the former board member, and the former carer the Herald spoke to questioned the company’s spending on events and sponsorships, arguing funds would have been better spent directly on children.
“We didn’t support having a boat party with unlimited alcohol and food while we were going around getting donations for kids’ toys,” one staff member said. “Those things morally don’t sit right with you.”
NBAC hosts an annual Christmas toy drive to provide gifts for kids in care and in 2021, when announcing its Orange sports club sponsorship used donations from Foodbank for children in its care.
“[Support] would be declined because we didn’t have enough money,” another staff member alleged.
“But they would spend thousands of dollars on staff outings.”
NBAC’s board said the accusation is unfounded: “Events are funded from organisational funds, not operational funds. Narang Bir-rong’s expenditure on staff wellbeing and sponsorships remains within appropriate limits approved by the Board. Supporting vulnerable communities is a shared responsibility, and Narang Bir-rong actively partners with businesses aligned with its mission and values.”
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