‘Over the line’: The leaked memo linked to Melbourne school’s $23m disability funding scandal
Hester Hornbrook Academy in Melbourne is facing a $23 million repayment demand after federal auditors found the school improperly classified 90% of its students as needing 'extensive' disability support. The school has begun laying off staff as it adjusts to reduced funding, though it denies pressuring teachers to inflate claims.
Why it matters
This highlights systemic risks in government-funded disability support schemes and the potential for institutional fraud when funding is tied to specific student classifications.
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Share A A A Teachers at a Melbourne independent school were urged to get children “over the line” into the highest bracket of disability support to attract lucrative Commonwealth funding, an internal document reveals.
Specialist assistance school Hester Hornbrook Academy is facing a demand from the federal government to repay $23 million in disability funding that flowed from Canberra last year, after Department of Education auditors found it was claiming more than 90 per cent of students were in the highest “extensive” bracket.
Hester Hornbrook Academy has been ordered to pay back tens of millions of dollars in Commonwealth disability funding. But the special assistance school (SAS) denies it pressured staff to reclassify students, saying it asked teachers to ensure that all disability supports provided to young people were properly documented.
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