Scandal-hit Malek Fahd Islamic School funded until Christmas as lawyers continue to fight Federal Government in court

AUSTRALIA’S largest Islamic school, Malek Fahd Islamic School, was stripped of government funding in April. Now it is returning to court to try and permanently restore its public funding.

Lawyers for the Malek Fahd Islamic School in Sydney’s southwest will return to court on Wednesday to appeal a Federal Government decision to withdraw $19 million in taxpayer funding.

AUSTRALIA’S largest Islamic school has enough money to “fly through until the Christmas holidays”, as its lawyers return to court on Wednesday in a bid to permanently restore public funding.

Malek Fahd Islamic School, in Greenacre, lost $19 million in Federal Government funding in April after an audit found its board, then run by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, was not spending all of the money on educating its 2400 students.

A new interim board won a reprieve later that month when the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled funding be restored until an appeal was decided.

When the Government continued to withhold funds, the Federal Court ruled in June that the Education and Training department urgently pay $5.2 million to avoid the school trading while insolvent.

Students protest at Malek Fahd Islamic School earlier this year, hours before the school’s AFIC board was thrown out.

The AAT appeal to permanently restore public funding will return to court for three days of hearings from Wednesday.

The school’s lawyer Rick Mitry told The Express “we’ve done everything we possibly can to prepare for it”.

That included ironing out Australian Education Act governance and financial compliance issues raised by Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham.

The school has also lodged an independent constitution with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

The school’s chairwoman, Miriam Silva, said the school has enough money to operate until the Christmas Holidays.

The interim board set up to replace deposed AFIC members in March has now been appointed permanently.

Board chairwoman Miriam Silva told The Express the school had enough public funding to “fly through until the Christmas holidays”.

In a letter to parents, Ms Silva said the school had received another monthly instalment in August, understood to be several million dollars.

An Education and Training Department spokeswoman said the department “continues to work with Malek Fahd Islamic School’s Approved Authority to meet compliance regulations under the Australian Education Act 2013 and is continuing to make monthly payments in arrears”.

“Due to ongoing formal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further,” she said.

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