Somerset College chairman Tony Hickey denies “baseless” email claims of conflict of interest

The high-profile chairman of one of the Gold Coast’s most prestigious schools has denied “baseless” claims of potential conflicts of interest involving his family company and the school’s $30 million building program.

The high-profile chairman of one of the Gold Coast’s most prestigious schools has denied “baseless” claims of potential conflicts of interest involving his family company and the school’s $30 million building program.

Prominent retired lawyer Tony Hickey is long-time chairman of Somerset College, which has announced a school fee increase of more than 10 per cent for 2025, reaping an extra $3.9 million in revenue.

Somerset has undertaken a $30 million building program in the past 18 months, with a proportion of those funds paid to Hickey family company One PM Group, for project management services.

Somerset College Chairman Tony Hickey embraces outgoing headmaster Craig Bassingthwaighte

An expansion of the junior school, 196-bay undercover carpark and “Olympic-standard” hockey field were part of the program.

In his letter to parents in November 2023, Mr Hickey said the board had approved a budget of $30 million for the building works.

“I want to acknowledge and extend a huge thank you to our Project Management team of One PM Group led by James Davidson,” he wrote.

“Their professionalism and their commitment is without peer.”

The letter did not mention that Mr Davidson is married to Mr Hickey’s daughter Lauren, who also works with One PM, while Mr Hickey’s son Jordan is a director and shareholder of the company.

Tony Hickey was a director of the company until August 2021, while his company, Hickey Management, is a former shareholder.

Screenshot from former Hickey Management website showing Tony Hickey, Jordan Hickey and James Davidson

Parents have spoken about what they perceive to be a lack of financial transparency at the school, which receives more than $16 million in government funding each year, as well as more than $30 million in fees from families and other private sources.

The parents asked that their names be withheld from publication, worried their decisions to talk publicly could impact their children.

Separate to the issue involving the One PM Group, parents expressed concerns at what they described as a lack of general financial transparency at the school.

“We often hear that buildings have come in on time and on budget, but we don’t get any figures or annual reports to demonstrate that has occurred,” one parent said.

“We pay all these fees – I know it’s not much money to some people but it is a lot for us – and the school is just not transparent about how that money is handled.”

Another parent said the lack of openness about the relationships between the chairman and the company left the school open to perceptions of “conflict of interest”.

The parent said there was no information publicly available about the process for the project management contract.

Upgrades at Somerset College Mudgeeraba.

Responding to questions from the Gold Coast Bulletin for Mr Hickey, Hickey Lawyers solicitor Scott Eustace said One PM was paid 1.75 per cent of the project cost, over three years.

“The project was delivered under budget, after a rigorous and professional procurement and construction process,” it said.

Mr Eustace said an anonymous email that was “highly offensive and defamatory” had been circulated about Mr Hickey.

“Mr Hickey will not respond to baseless, offensive and defamatory statements from someone who chooses to remain anonymous,” the letter said.

“Similarly, Mr Hickey will not entertain your questions which are based on such statements.

“The information provided by the anonymous complainant is riddled with such factual inaccuracies.”

The Gold Coast Bulletin has not seen the email referenced in Mr Eustace’s letter.

Mr Hickey did not answer questions about the specific process for selecting One PM as project manager; how parents could access the school’s financial records; or what the actual percentage increase of the fees would be.

Screenshot from the website of One PM Group, including Lauren and James Davidson (front left) and Jordan Hickey, (front right).

Somerset College is registered with the Australian Charities and Non-profits Commission, but as a non-government school does not have to publicly lodge a financial report.

Special reporting arrangements for private schools mean they can fill out a questionnaire for the Department of Education.

A summary is then published on the My School website.

Somerset’s summary for 2023 shows $48.7 million in gross income, including $16.8 million in government funding and $29.1 million in fees and other parent payments.

It showed $11.6 million in new school loans and said there had been $28.5 million in capital expenditure in the past three years, with $10 million of that coming from the school’s income.

Upgrades at Somerset College Mudgeeraba.

No detailed financial reports have been published since 2022, when it reported annual revenue of $47.5 million, of which $22.7 million was from school fees and $15.9 million was from government grants.

The report said it had entered a $24.7 million contract with Hutchinson on February 6, 2023, for the junior school, hockey field and carpark.

The school also took out a five-year $20 million credit facility from Commonwealth Bank, the report said.

According to the report, key management personnel were paid $1.35 million, however the school claimed an exemption from publicly revealing who was paid that sum.