Hillsong

A whistleblower suing Hillsong in the Federal Court alleges the megachurch moved millions of dollars in payments through overseas entities to avoid scrutiny ...

The statement of claim said Hillsong expressed concern that Ms Moses had downloaded some 40,000 confidential work documents, something Ms Moses claims was necessary to her daily duties. "The consequence was that there was no record of any cash payment from Hillsong Church to the United States of America," the statement of claim reads. Court documents state the relationship between Ms Moses and Hillsong collapsed about June 10, when she discovered she had lost access to her company emails and share files. Ms Moses also alleged Mr Ridley directed the finance department to reverse a payment owed to a pastor responsible for Hillsong Tokyo as a "transaction error" and instead make the same payment from the US-based Hillsong Global entity. "Ms Moses said she was not comfortable coming up with lies to tell the ACNC," her claim reads. The statement of claim said the chief financial officer declared in this meeting that God would shield Hillsong during the probe because "God protects the righteous and Hillsong is the righteous". Hillsong Church is yet to file a response in the Federal Court and Ms Moses is the sole source of the allegations in her statement of claim. Ms Moses said it was after this March 29 meeting that she approached the ACNC anonymously about making a whistleblower inquiry and was advised to obtain independent legal advice. The Hillsong Foundation Trust's stated mission is "to bring care and justice to vulnerable groups in the name of Jesus". She also complained it was unethical and illegal for the church to use tax-deductible donations given to its charity arm, the Hillsong Foundation Trust, in 2022 to cover the church's $9 million deficit. During a telephone call in early March 2022, Ms Moses alleges she raised the alarm about Australian Hillsong entities asking for donations to renovate Melbourne's iconic "Festival Hall", which was purchased by a Hillsong-related entity in 2020. The existence of the ACNC probe was revealed in Federal Court documents lodged by former Hillsong employee Natalie Moses on Wednesday as part of a Fair Work case against the church.