Hillsong donations plunge $100k a week amid probe by Australian Taxation Office
The crippling finances have been exposed in new financial documents, with the Christian megachurch losing an eye-watering $5 million in just one year.
Faith On Trial
Don't miss out on the headlines from Faith On Trial. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Scandal plagued Christian megachurch Hillsong is bleeding $100,000 a week in donations as auditors warn high-powered “regulatory” investigations risk crippling its finances.
Hillsong handed over a string of financial documents to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) last week, revealing its plunging fortunes.
Documents warned that a key Hillsong entity, The Hillsong Foundation Trust, was racing to refinance a $24 million loan with NAB before September 30 this year.
Donations at that charity had dropped $5 million in a year - or almost $100,000 per week.
Ernst and Young partner Anthony Jones wrote in the Trust’s financial report that Hillsong was facing “a number of regulatory investigations.”
“Given the nature of these investigations and the powers available to the regulators, we were unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial consequences that could result from any regulatory findings,” he wrote.
The ACNC publicly revealed in March last year that it was investigating Hillsong, and later made a public statement warning charities against using complicated financial structures to “hide serious wrongdoing”.
The ATO has also been investigating Hillsong following claims detailed in documents released in Federal Parliament that alleged it had wrongly used $15.7 million in tax deductible donations to purchase Melbourne’s Festival Hall.
Independent Federal MP Andrew Wilkie tabled the 17,000 Hillsong financial documents, which detailed claims the church used “private jets like Ubers and went on spending sprees that would embarrass a Kardashian.”
Mr Wilkie said “many people who once supported Hillsong clearly lost faith in Hillsong’s leadership.”
“I reckon much of the damage is not repairable and the Hillsong of old is finished for good,” he said.
“Many of Hillsong’s faithful followers were understandably shocked to learn that a decent whack of the money they were handing over for the poor and other worthwhile causes was instead being squandered.”
Mr Wilkie said there was “continuing uncertainty” about Hillsong because of the ATO and ACNC probes.
“In my opinion there’s a good chance one or both agencies will make adverse findings that could very well be the end of the Hillsong model that had become a global phenomenon,” he said.
The documents provided to the ACNC cover the 2022 calendar year when Hillsong founder Brian Houston left the church following complaints about his alleged behaviour towards women.
He was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to one woman and spending 40 minutes in the hotel room of another female Hillsong member.
Mr Houston has denied any wrongdoing, saying he left the church because of the way it was handled, not the allegations.
Hillsong has also been hit with claims from its former bible college students.
A podcast, Faith On Trial, last year detailed claims that Hillsong College students were interrogated about their sex lives.
Listen to the podcast below:
Those who had been sexually active were banned from working with children. Victims of sexual abuse also claimed they had been prevented from being around children at Hillsong events.
The Hillsong Foundation Trust was a significant source of funds for the church.
The documents made publicly available by the ACNC show that donations to the Hillsong Foundation Trust fell from $18.1 million in 2021 to $13.1 million in 2022.
“The trust is an ancillary public fund that relies predominantly on donation income,” the documents state.
“Hillsong Church congregation members, members of the community and local businesses make these donations.”
The Hillsong Foundation Trust relies on top-shelf donors, previously known as Kingdom Builders, who poured millions into the Sydney based church that went global.
They are now called Faith Mission Partners but must donate at least $2500 each year to gain entry into the exclusive club.
The Faith Mission Partners received access to an annual retreat with Global senior pastors Phil and Lucinda Dooley, which was often held in New South Wales Hunter Valley region.
They also get access to “breakfasts and local gatherings”.
Hillsong also released reports into its music division, college, childcare and CityCare divisions.
The Hillsong Media & Performing Arts Ltd entity had an $6.2 million drop in donations in the 2022 calendar year.
The ACNC said in a statement: “Secrecy provisions set out in law apply to our compliance work and prevent us from making comment on the details of our investigations; however, certain actions we take will be published on a charity’s record.
“Any investigation we undertake must be thorough, independent, comprehensive, proportionate and consistent with our approach to all investigations.
“The ACNC can investigate concerns that a charity has breached the ACNC Act or the Governance Standards. We will act when there is evidence that a charity has breached its obligations.”
Mr Houston was cleared last year of allegations that he covered up his father’s child abuse, with a Sydney court finding him not guilty.
However, he pleaded guilty to drink-driving in a United States court in April last year after recording a blood alcohol content reading of 0.23 - described as “blackout drunk”.
He has continued to preach, recently travelling to Ghana, Singapore and the United States, while also launching plans for a new media outlet JesusFollowers.TV to launch in July.
“All of us have twists and turns that we maybe did not see coming.” he said in a recent sermon.
“No matter what is going on in my life I’m moving upwards.”
Hillsong was contacted for comment.
More Coverage
Originally published as Hillsong donations plunge $100k a week amid probe by Australian Taxation Office
Hillsong twist as Brian Houston starts new church
The megachurch is making a major change to its complaints process amid a tax office investigation into whistleblower documents that was examined in Faith on Trial podcast.
Read more
ATO probes Hillsong fraud claims
The Christian megachurch is being investigated by the Australian Taxation Office’s private wealth team over leaked financial records.
Read more