Meals on Wheels members call for an investigation of NSW peak body, letter reveals

Volunteers from the beloved food charity are calling for an investigation following some major concerns outlined in a leaked letter.

Filipino Man putting away meal prep containers Salmon and Chicken Meat Ball Meal Preps

Branch members from one of Australia’s most cherished charities Meals on Wheels have called for an investigation into the finances of their NSW peak body.

A letter, sent on behalf of up to 14 branches, was this week sent to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), asking for them to investigate “serious concerns about the governance and operations” of Meals on Wheels NSW.

Tensions between branch members, many of them volunteers, and the NSW peak body, which is not directly involved in delivering services, have been simmering for years, according to a well placed source.

Last year a number of branches were so unhappy they formally made a move to come under the governance of Queensland’s peak body.

In a letter to the charity commission this week, written by one member, it said, “I am writing on behalf of other Meals on Wheels organisations and individuals who are unable to come forward at this time for fear of retribution, but I believe would be willing to participate in a confidential investigation”.

Meals and Wheels members in NSW are calling for an investigation.

Among the concerns was the possible use of funds for non-charitable purposes, a potential conflict of interest “involving large sums of money”, and concerns around executive pay.

The letter stated that since 2012-13, Meals on Wheels NSW had only allocated $82,546 to support its member services funds, according to financial statements published by the commission, even though in 2022-23 the NSW peak body reported a retained surplus of $10,932,183.

The body also paid $14,164,458 in salary and wages during this time at an average of $204,304 per full time equivalent.

One former board member said the peak body had invested in a commercial property worth several million dollars, which it later sold, and then bought another which it leases out.

“The peak body is raking it in,” a services manager, who runs one of the Meals on Wheels services said. “While we struggle to make ends meet every year.”

In the letter to the charity commission, it said many people had tried, for more than a decade, to “improve the transparency, accountability and good governance” of the body, but had found themselves removed from the board.

Meals on Wheels NSW CEO Les MacDonald

Earlier this year, the CEO of the peak body, Les MacDonald, was forced to apologise after posting anti-Israel comments on his personal Facebook account.

In February, the organisation said in a statement that Mr MacDonald “acknowledges that his statements may cause offence to some Meals on Wheels NSW clients, and for this he unreservedly apologises.”

Last year a letter backed by a number of NSW branches was sent to the Queensland peak body asking to join them.

“We have lost trust and confidence in our state association and desperately seeking the support of an association that represents the genuine interests of members through leadership and who have a sense of the current and emerging aged care climate,” it said.

The move was allegedly thwarted by the NSW peak body.

Meals on Wheels branches in NSW deliver around 4.5 million meals to home-bound clients across the state every year.

A spokeswoman from the peak body said they were unaware of a complaint, but would be “more than happy to work with the ACNC once we become aware of the nature of the complaint to assist them with their investigation”.