Lucrative building contracts for Exclusive Brethren schools awarded to businesses run by church members

OneSchool Global say it is fully compliant with governance standards for charitable entities and “meet the requirements of a raft of other legislation governing national and state entities”. Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

Schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect have spent millions of dollars with businesses owned by church members on major building projects, including to a company majority-owned by the powerful Hales family, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

The Brethren’s OneSchool Global schools are registered charities in Australia and exempt from income tax. The OSG schools also have building funds endorsed for deductible gift recipient status.