Geelong battery start up Scale Facilitation speaks out after police raid

A Geelong-based battery start up raided by police over a probe into alleged tax fraud has denied any wrongdoing.

Founder of Australian company, Scale Facilitation, David Collard in the One World Trade Center office. Pic Abby Holden

A Geelong-based battery start up raided by police over a probe into alleged tax fraud has denied any wrongdoing.

Recharge Industries and parent company Scale Facilitation’s North Geelong offices were searched by Australian Federal Police in late June as part of an investigation.

In a statement to the Geelong Advertiser, the company denied the allegations and committed to working with law enforcement.

“Scale Facilitation has and will continue to fully co-operate with the ATO and now the AFP,” the statement read.

“The company denies any wrongdoing and will continue working with legal and other advisors to defend any matters arising from these discussions.”

“As this is an ongoing matter, Scale Facilitation and its portfolio companies, including Recharge Industries, cannot comment further at this time.”

The company – headed by Geelong-born businessman David Collard – made headlines last year after revealing plans for a multimillion-dollar battery “gigafactory” that would support thousands of local manufacturing jobs.

It also announced a $6bn takeover of UK battery maker Britishvolt, with similar plans proposed for a factory in England’s north.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed the investigation was being conducted by the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce, consisting of multiple government departments.

“This activity is not related to national security, and there are no current or impending threats to the Australian community,” she said.

“As this relates to an ongoing investigation, police will not be providing further comment at this stage.”

Mr Collard, who became PwC’s youngest ever partner at 32, has run a raft of companies under the Scale Facilitation umbrella since 2020.

Scale Facilitation attracted high praise from both sides of the political aisle, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles both attending the company’s launch of its global headquarters at the One World Trade Center earlier this year.

But cracks appeared in the company last month when ex-employees missed out on weeks of pay due to an alleged “technical hiccup” related to international bank accounts.

Scale Facilitation did not respond to questions about outstanding payments, but last month revealed it had planned on paying back employees.

“Last pay cycle some staff and vendors experienced delays in receiving pay and/or entitlements due to issues with global money transfers and other related issues,” a Recharge Industries spokeswoman told the Addy at the time.

“We are working at pace to rectify this and all outstanding amounts are being processed.”

Originally published as Geelong battery start up Scale Facilitation speaks out after police raid