Failed school space camp provider Actura Australia collapsed under an $18m debt pile

Actura Australia, which organised space camp tours for schools including Korowa Anglican Girls’ and Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, went bust owing $18m with some families now facing losses of up to $14,000.

About 700 students are up to $7m out of pocket after the collapse of Actura Australia. Picture: Supplied

A collapsed space camp tour company for school students owes hundreds of creditors more than $18m, new documents reveal.

A liquidators’ report from Westburn Advisory shows Actura Australia, which had signed hundreds of students from Australia and New Zealand to go on a range of space and ocean camps to the United States, shows the full extent of the losses.

The company owes $935,000 to secured creditor Synnex Australia and $730,000 to staff and priority creditors.

It also owes $17m to unsecured creditors, with a list of the students whose families had paid to go on the camps provided owed between $2000 and $14,000.

TAG, a global travel company which booked tickets for the students, is owed $282,000, the Shangri-La in Cairns and Sam’s Limousine and Transportation are both owed $137,000 respectively while John Gazal Travel is owed $489,000.

The company, directed by Tin Chun Chun, also owes $494,000 to the Australian Taxation Office.

The company has $415,000 in assets, leaving a deficit of $18,382,000.

Victorian students affected attended Korowa Anglican Girls’ School, Firbank Grammar School and Mentone Girls’ Secondary College.

Global travel company TAG has been caught up in the collapse of Actura Australia. Picture: Supplied

Global travel firm caught up in collapse

A global travel company has become embroiled in the collapse of space camp provider Actura Australia after it booked and paid for flights for dozens of Melbourne students, the Herald Sun can reveal.

However, the company, TAG, will not release the tickets for the students from Korowa Anglican Girls’ School and Firbank Grammar School because it has not been paid by Actura for them.

The company — accused of failing to support the students by one school leader — is merely referring impacted families to the liquidator.

About 700 students from Australia and New Zealand are up to $7m out of pocket after Actura suddenly went into liquidation on June 14.

A travel insider helping the schools find a way for the trips to proceed said learning of the existence of the booked tickets was a “glimmer of hope that was soon dashed”.

Teachers and administrators from the two schools have been trying to make alternate arrangements for the students to be able to still go on the trip to Houson, San Francisco and Silicon Valley on June 29.

But both schools have admitted it is now not possible and are focused on a trip at a later point and seeking to recoup the $10,000 paid by each family.

Students at Korowa Anglican Girls’ School have been caught up in the collapse. Picture: Ian Currie

A spokeswoman for TAG, which is a company that makes travel bookings, said it has been “following due process and working actively with Westburn Advisory (liquidator) and airlines regarding travel arrangements made for Actura’s clients”.

“TAG wishes to note a substantial amount of money remains unpaid by Actura to TAG for this travel,” the spokeswoman said.

“We acknowledge that this is a deeply challenging time for all families involved and share our shock and disappointment given the complexity of this matter and encourage all families affected to liaise directly with Westburn Advisory as liquidator.”

Korowa principal Frances Booth said that despite the school’s best efforts to secure our flights “a lack of support by the providing organisations means that the trip is no longer able to proceed”.

“Like the families involved, we are devastated by this,” she said.

“Our next focus is seeing what redress there is through the administrator or alternatively considering a trip at a later point.”

A spokeswoman for the other school affected, Firbank Grammar, said the school “has worked with alternate suppliers and other affected schools to find ways for the trip to run as planned this Saturday 29th June”.

“Unfortunately, due to the timing of the announcement and difficulties with securing airfares, running the trip as planned was not possible,” she said.

“Students, staff and the School are extremely disappointed.

“The school continues to work with alternate providers, along with other schools to look at options for running a replacement STEM trip later this year.”

Actura is the second space camp provider to go bust this year. Picture: Supplied

It’s the second travel company offering space camps to go bust this year, with EduTours leaving hundreds of students out of pocket.

While the Victorian government’s insurance covered the losses of affected state schools, private schools have either covered the parents’ losses or gone halves with them for new tickets.

An Actura Families Support Group on social media has told the liquidator that they believe the company was trading while insolvent and that “there was never any intention for these trips to take place”.

The other Melbourne school affected is Mentone Girls Secondary College, with junior and senior girls due to go on Space Camp in December 2024.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said: “We understand that families at Mentone Girls Secondary College affected by the collapse of Actura have been contacted by the liquidator”.

Students from the school were also due to attend Ocean Camp in September next year, with some families asked to pay upfront weeks before the company collapsed.

It’s not known yet if the trips will go ahead or if families will be reimbursed by the government insurer.