YWAM Toowoomba

This is a review for those thinking of getting involved with YWAM Toowoomba, especially as a student or a donor.

If this is you, then please pause and consider the following:

• This is an organisation that has a public invitation to young people^[1] to enter financial agreements likely to be life-changing,
  • that is directed by a Committee of just three people, with two of these being a couple^[2] and the ‘Leadership Team’.
  • that has a Committee
    • without any outsiders (even from another YWAM)^[3]
    • the composition of which may contravene the organisation’s constitution^[4]
  • that has a membership (to whom the Committee is accountable), that requires potential members to be staff.^[5]
• This is an organisation, a registered charity, that collected $632K last year, but where the leaders^[6] have shown their disdain for their legal responsibilities as the responsible persons of the charity, by
  • submitting the annual documents required by the charity regulator five (5) months late^[7]
  • submitting a financial report that is grossly deficient
  • operating without the required registrations^[8].
• This is an organisation where the reviewer of the Financial Report, Alan Norman MIPA, has issued a report that does not comply with the Auditing Standards.
• This is an organisation that is part of a movement where
  • periodically there are credible reports of abuse of students
  • there is a lack of accountability
    • the external YWAM body that the constitution says needs to be involved in some of the important decisions^[9] appears not to exist^[10].
  • there is an unwillingness to submit to independent scrutiny of their information.

A draft of this review was sent to the charity. They….did not respond.

1. https://ywamtoowoomba.com/: ↑
2. The leaders are not shown on the website. ↑
3. https://soundcloud.com/ywam-toowoomba/anchor-for-my-soul-nathan-edgell ↑
4. Because YWAM Toowoomba operates a fund, gifts to which may be tax deductible [ABN Lookup, via the ACNC Register], the composition of this committee may be in breach of clause 12 of the charity’s constitution: ↑
5. The constitution, ACNC Register. ↑
6. Financial Report 2019, ACNC Register. ↑
7. The last time they submitted on time was for the 2015 year. ↑
8. An ARBN for operating interstate, and a registered business name for ‘YWAM Toowoomba’. ↑
9. For example, clause 12: ↑
10. The only mention of Australia in a long list of ‘global contacts’ all around the world is ‘Pacific & Asia Field Convenor’. ↑