Actura Australia made an offer before it collapsed, now dozens of families are out of pocket

A Mentone Girls’ Secondary College mum is thousands of dollars out of pocket after tour company Actura Australia made her an offer for her daughter’s trip weeks before it collapsed.

Dozens of Melbourne families have been affected by the sudden collapse of the CASE space camp, leaving parents up to $13,000 out of pocket.

A Melbourne mum who paid a tour organiser thousands of dollars for her daughter to go on a trip of a lifetime, says she feels like she has been “lied to” after the company collapsed.

A month before Actura Australia went into liquidation, the educational trip organiser offered a Mentone Girls’ Secondary College parent a $623 discount if she agreed to pay for her daughter’s CASE Ocean Camp – scheduled for September next year – in full.

“We’ve received numerous requests from parents seeking a convenient option to pay the balance in one go, to avoid the hassle of multiple small monthly payments,” an email from Actura Australia to the mum, sighted by the Herald Sun, said.

“After considering the parent requests, we are very pleased to offer the following incentive on your balance payment: receive a 10 per cent discount on your balance payment when you opt for a one-time payment.”

The letter advised parents they had until May 12 to agree to the offer before paying for the camp in full with a deadline of May 14, 2024 – 14 months prior to the Sydney and Queensland-based camp taking place.

Actura Australia offered some parents a discount on their ocean camp if they agreed to pay in full.

The mum, who didn’t wish to be identified, agreed to this offer and paid $8200, not expecting that in a month’s time the company would go into liquidation on June 14.

She is now one of dozens of parents who have lost thousands of dollars due to Actura Australia’s collapse, leaving both her and her daughter devastated.

“My daughter is in year 10 and her dream is to become a marine biologist. The trip we were presented with just a couple of months ago, CASE Ocean Camp, looked like the perfect opportunity to see and test hands-on some of the options that are out there in this domain,” the mum said.

The CASE Ocean Camp offered students the chance to explore marine biology, ocean ecology and cutting-edge research and technology, according to Actura Australia’s now defunct website.

“She was so enthusiastic, we were too happy that we could help her decide her future. We took them up on the offer to pay the trip in whole last month in order to secure her spot,” the mum said.

“We are not just frustrated that they lied to our face … they lied to the kids and my daughter in particular feels guilty that she insisted to go and we just lost money. Very, very disappointed with the way they approached everything.”

Students from several schools around the world have been affected by the collapse. Picture: Actura Australia June 17 2024

Families from Korowa Anglican Girls’ School, Firbank Grammar School and Mentone Girls’ Secondary College scheduled to go on a CASE Space Camp have also been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after Actura Australia collapsed.

Some of these students were scheduled to fly to the United States for their space camp in as little as two weeks, but are now unsure about whether their parents will receive their money back.

New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesian families have also been left in the lurch, after partially or fully paying for camps scheduled to occur in the coming months.

Westburn Advisory has been appointed as administrator for the company but advised on Monday it did not have money to refund parents.

Actura Australia’s collapse comes three months after Edu School Tours – who also organised space camps to the US Space and Rocket Center – went into liquidation.

The Herald Sun has contacted Westburn Advisory for comment.