The collapse of Brindabella Christian College left a trail of financial devastation, yet the regulators assigned to hold the responsible parties to account have effectively washed their hands of the mess.

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Bureaucrats have abandoned parents, dedicated teachers and hardworking suppliers, leaving them out of pocket while the architects of this corporate disaster escape any serious consequences for documented errors of action and omission.

At a recent Senate estimates hearing, a farcical situation emerged that perfectly illustrated the flawed state of Australian corporate oversight. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission declared it would not conduct further investigations to gather more evidence because the current evidence is insufficient to justify the effort.

This logic defies basic community expectations. If police applied the same standard to a criminal investigation, knowing an offence occurred but refusing to seek witnesses because it required too much work, the public outcry would be swift and deafening.

Yet, in the corporate sphere, millions of dollars vanish, and the watchdogs merely point fingers. A classic regulatory runaround now defines the aftermath of the school collapsing.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission formally revoked the official charity registration of Brindabella Christian Education Limited in June last year. The charities commission then bounced the responsibility to the corporate regulator. In response, the........

© Canberra Times