By Lucy Carroll and Robyn Grace
Hundreds of parents have been left up to $11,000 out of pocket after the abrupt collapse of a tour company offering school students “once-in-a-lifetime” study trips to NASA headquarters.
Actura Australia said it had gone into liquidation last week, immediately cancelling all of its 2024 and 2025 international space school expeditions.
Lucia Haigh has lost $7000 in deposits paid for her daughters to attend a space camp.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Up to 700 students have been affected nationally, with private and public schools in Victoria and NSW holding emergency meetings over the company’s collapse. Some students were due to leave in less than a fortnight.
The affected schools include Reddam House, The King’s School and Forest High in Sydney, and Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, Firbank Grammar School and Korowa Anglican Girls’ School in Melbourne.
Tour company Actura offered two-week international study trips that promised to deliver “unforgettable” STEAM education in inspiring environments, including tours of NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, astronaut training and “immersive space missions”.
Actura chief executive Charles Chung told schools in a letter that the company’s cash flow had been severely affected by the COVID pandemic, a large increase in the cost of supply and significant reductions in registrations due to increases in the cost of living.
Space camp organiser Actura Australia announced it had gone into liquidation last week.Credit: Actura Australia
Chung said Actura had “no financial resources to provide customer refunds”.
“We deeply apologise for this very devastating outcome,” he said.
One Reddam House parent, Lucia Haigh, said she had paid a $7600 deposit for her two daughters to attend a two-week space camp trip to the United States in July next year. She is one of about two dozen Reddam families affected by Actura’s collapse. Another Reddam parent said she had paid $10,900 upfront for one of her children to attend the camp.
“There were no signs this was going to happen. It’s very stressful, and many parents have been saving up for this trip,” said Haigh, who paid the deposit in three instalments. She said her last payment was on June 12, several days before the company went into liquidation.
Fourteen students from Melbourne’s Firbank Grammar School had been due to leave for space camp in less than two weeks. Their parents received news of Actura’s collapse late on Friday night.
‘We feel duped’
One father, who asked not to be named, said he had finalised payments for the trip in December, but there were still no flights booked under his child’s name. “We feel duped,” he said. “We’re just so shocked ... parents are extremely angry.”
Parents will meet Firbank staff on Monday night to discuss compensation. “We do feel like they are responsible for what happened,” the father said. “They brokered the deal with Actura.”
Westburn Advisory has been appointed to manage the liquidation process. All Actura staff have had their employment terminated, and the company’s office in northern Sydney has been closed permanently.
“Given all trading operations were managed out of Australia, this means that tours booked by students in other countries will not proceed,” said Shumit Banerjee, the appointed liquidator.
Reddam House has retained lawyers to advise and assist parents in communicating with the liquidator. In an email to families, the school expressed disappointment for the students who had enlisted in Actura’s programs.
“We are also very disappointed to have been informed that Actura has taken this step after undergoing financial difficulties for some time,” the email said. “We at Reddam House had no forewarning of Actura’s financial difficulties, and this information was not made available to us.”
Actura, which was established in 2014, offered international study trips, including CASE Space School, CASE Ocean School and CASE Film & Arts School expeditions.
Trips cost about $11,000 and were offered to a limited number of high-school students each year.
In the letter last Friday, Chung told parents that Actura had “exhausted all possible avenues for recovery of its negative cash flow position”.
Parents who have already paid some or all of their excursion instalments have been advised to contact their credit card issuer to make a chargeback claim.
On Monday, phones at Actura’s headquarters in northern Sydney went unanswered.
A message service told customers: “We regret to inform you that as of the 14th of June, 2024, Actura has permanently closed. Thank you for your understanding and support over the years. Goodbye.”
Actura’s closure has also affected students in New Zealand, where the company was reportedly charging up to $13,000 for children from 25 schools to attend a two-week space school program at NASA headquarters in Houston.
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said 10 students from Forest High School had been affected by Actura’s liquidation. A Victorian Department of Education spokesperson said the department was identifying and working with affected schools to determine whether fees paid in advance could be recouped.
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