Albanese and fellow hunters for savings can train crosshairs on Tom Bathiurst's AUD 75 Million pa gift to the College Of Law , a "nice to have" proven to be a waste of money by his successor Andrew Bell

 by Ganesh Sahathevan

 Bathurst and his LPAB went to extraodinary lenghts to defend the College Of Law and its PLT

                          Albanese will want the money Bathurst gifted the College Of Law

The SMH and The Age headline declares:

‘No nice-to-haves’: Albanese demands ministers find billions in savings for May budget

In that regard readers of this blog will be aware that as a  result of the NSW LPAB's misconduct in defending the College Of Law PLT , taxpayers and PLT students have lost between AUD 300 -500 Million  in misallocated FEE HELP loans to the College Of Law PLT.

The misconduct was overseen by the then Chief Justice Of NSW, Tom Bathurst, who as chairman of the NSW LPAB defended the College Of Law, its management , and its PLT against this writer's complaints about the PLT, and investigation as a journalist into what was clearly a fraud on taxpayers and PLT students. 

However, Bathurst's successor as Chief Justice and NSW LPAB Chairman , Andrew Bell, has single-handedly demolished the PLT, and possibly the College Of Law, leaving in no doubt that the PLT and in particular The College Of Law PLT is not worth taxpayer  money , and  at best "a nice to have " for The College Of Law. It is low lying fruit for Anthony Albanese and his ministers in search of savings. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Sunday, September 7, 2025

NSW CJ and chairman NSW LPAB's College Of Law and PLT complaints are an invitation to NACC chairman Paul Brereton to establish a public inquiry into PLT FEE HELP abuse,

 by Ganesh Sahathevaan 

                                                              

                                                                             

                                                                         

 The College of Law Australia's huge surpluses that the  Chief Justice NSW Andrew Bell finds objectionable have been made possible by the NSW LPAB's ongoing approval of The College of Law Australia's PLT despite evidence of poor course quality and teaching.

While that evidence has been in the public domain since at least 2006, it was only recently in April 2025 that the Chief Justice of NSW, who is also chairman of the NSW LPAB which is supposed to regulate the College of Law and PLT to ensure standards, admitted that the College Of Law PLT was  largely not fit for purpose, and far too expensive.

False reporting in the NSW LPAB's Annual Reports which conceal complaints against the College allows The College of Law Australia ongoing access to Commonwealth FEE HELP funding of AUD 40-50 Million pa,which is funded by Australian taxpayers.

It does seem as if Andrew Bell in inviting
NACC chairman Paul Brereton to establish a public inquiry into Commonwealth FEE HELP  abuse. 

TO BE READ WITH

False reporting in the NSW LPAB 2018 Annual Report allows College Of Law Ltd continued access to Commonwealth FEE HELP  funding of AUD 40-50 Million pa - Ongoing loss incurred by Australian taxpayers one more reason for NACC chairman Paul Brereton to establish a public inquiry into the NSW LPAB  

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                                                                     

As previously reported on this writer's Realpolitikasia blog:

NACC public hearings of misconduct at the NSW LPAB and TEQSA with regards the anomalies in their business with the Communist Party China linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group necessary given NACC chief Paul Brereton's NSW Supreme Court antecedents

Adding to the above is the fact that  false reporting in the NSW LPAB's 2018 Annual Report  allows College Of Law Ltd continued access to Commonwealth FEE HELP  funding of AUD 40-50 Million per annum (see stories below).

The loss is ongoing, and suffered by Australian taxpayers. It is one more reason for NACC chairman Paul Brereton to establish a public inquiry in the NSW LPAB. 

TO BE READ WITH 

NSW LPAB Executive Officer Louise Pritchard had personal knowledge of operational matters excluded from the NSW LPAB Annual Report 2018, which she attested was compliant with NSW Public Sector rules 

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                     Pritchard's signature on page 22 of the NSW LPAB Annual Report, 2017-2018

Between January and June 2018 Louise Pritchard, then Executive Officer of the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board, was informed by this writer via a number of emails about problems at the College of Law.  Some of these issues were subsequently made public in Malaysia., after the College Of Law  closed its regional office located in Malaysia suddenly and without explanation. 

The complaints against the College were not disclosed in the NSW LPAB Annual Report 2017-2018, despite the NSW LPAB being required to provide information in its annual reports about complaints against institutions like the College Of Law which it oversees and accredits,  ,and despite Pritchard having personal knowledge of the complaints.  

Pritchard was responsible for attesting that the NSW LPAB Annual Reports complied with disclosure and other requirements that concerned the NSW LPAB's operations. Pritchard left the NSW LPAB sometime in 2019, for a position at the Office Of General Counsel, Sydney University.

END 

SEE ALSO

Resignation of LPAB Executive Officer Louise Pritchard is an audit red flag that requires the Chairman LPAB, the Chief Justice NSW Tom Bathurst, to provide an explanation: Misallocation of $40-50 Million p.a. in FEE HELP adds to overdue need for better governance