The former Governor-General’s pet project – the Australian Future Leaders Foundation – is no more. It is deceased, bereft of life, expired and gone to meet its maker.
It’s a scam we helped to reveal, and last month, MWM informed readers that the Australian Future Leaders Foundation had lost its charity Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.
We can now advise that the obituary for the Foundation can be officially released.
The former charity had its charity status (voluntarily) revoked and, as a company, lodged a voluntary deregistration application with the corporate regulator – the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC), just prior to Christmas.
GG’s secretive Future Leaders Foundation flounders. What’s the scam?
The Foundation, with high hopes and high ambitions supported by the highest offices in the land – the former Governor-General David Hurley and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison – sought the support of high society and corporate high fliers promising to arm Australia with a production line of high-quality future leaders.
Instead, it withered on the vine, attracting insufficient support once the incoming Albanese government rescinded ScoMo’s $18M funding bucket. The fickle world of corporate, family office and philanthropic funding streams apparently dried up.
The former Foundation reported a surplus of $1.5M in 2022 in the only public financial report it ever released to the regulator – the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC).
The Foundation, with no public office, no public website, and virtually no staff in the end, produced no leaders, apparently had no ongoing support and is no more.
Jommy Tee is a long-time career public servant, having worked in the policy development field for 25+ years as well as an independent researcher interested in politics, current affairs, and Nordic noir.