Hillsong College in surplus after Hillsong Church bailout
Hillsong’s embattled training college is miraculously back in the black after slumping into half a million dollars’ debt, thanks to a substantial bailout and slashed fees from the Pentecostal megachurch.
Hillsong’s embattled training college is miraculously back in the black after facing regulatory action from Australia’s charity watchdog – thanks to a substantial bailout from the church itself.
Public financial statements on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission revealed the Pentecostal megachurch’s Hillsong College was $540,780 in the red as at December 31, 2023.
The college is now in an operating surplus of $739,071, with their latest financial report revealing the institution received a commitment of financial support from Hillsong International Ltd to ensure its survival.
Hillsong’s various entities also wiped fees for everything from support services to rent in 2024, amounting to almost $3m in savings from the year prior.
The report states the trustee for Hillsong International provided a donation of $2,178,090 to Hillsong College in 2024 – down from $2,865,460 the year prior.
The lease fee was also wiped, with Hillsong College charged nothing for rent in 2024.
The college entity spent $1.83m to rent spaces from Hillsong Church Australia at its Norwest church headquarters and Waterloo campus in 2023, and despite the lease formally ending on December 31, 2023, the college continued using the facilities in 2024 at no cost.
Associated repairs, maintenance and other operating costs were also not charged, after Hillsong College paid $227,547 for the same in 2023.
Hillsong International also wiped Hillsong College’s fees for various support services including finance, IT, staff operations, payroll and governance in 2024, slashing their $748,629 fee from 2023.
The trustee of Hillsong International Ltd, the report states, has also committed to provide a donation for the year ending December 31, 2025, to “meet the forecast operational costs … to enable Hillsong College to continue to operate for at least the next 12 months”.
In total, the college’s 2024 expenses were $5,005,576, significantly down from $8,997,861 the year prior.
Hillsong College, which offers undergraduate diploma and degree programs, a postgraduate Master of Arts, and vocational Certificate III and diploma courses, is an accredited institution run by the Australian Pentecostal megachurch in person in Sydney and online.
The ACNC had earlier accepted a voluntary enforceable undertaking offered by Hillsong College in the wake of “serious allegations” made about the Hillsong Church charities.
A subsequent ACNC investigation “identified concerns relating to Hillsong College’s compliance” with its regulations, including record keeping obligations, governance standards, external conduct standards, and reporting obligations.
Publicly available records show Hillsong College did not submit its financial report and annual information statement for 2023 until June 29, 2025 – a year after it was due, and on the same day its 2024 reports were due and submitted.
The college’s charity reporting is now up to date.
Hillsong is one of the nation’s most prominent churches, but has faced public controversy in recent years due to scandal among its leadership ranks.
Founders Brian and Bobbie Houston left the church in 2022 after the church’s board found him to have inappropriately texted a female staffer, and wound up intoxicated in another woman’s hotel room while intoxicated after a church conference.
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Originally published as Hillsong College in surplus after Hillsong Church bailout
