EXCLUSIVE
INVESTIGATION
The charity of estranged Melbourne power couple Luke and Cate Sayers — which in 2023 had more than a dozen staff earning average salaries of over $120,000 — claims it now has zero employees and has shrunk so much it doesn’t need to file its accounts.
Inclusion Foundation, at the heart of a 2022 illegal political advertising scandal involving then Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, has told the charities regulator it now has “0.00” full-time equivalent employees.
Investigations show the charity lodged forms with the regulator on Monday March 23, days after The Klaxon revealed it had shuttered its website, disabled its phone service, and failed to file its accounts, due January 31.
Inclusion Foundation has told the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) it is no longer required to file its accounts because it is now a “small charity” — under changes brought in by the former Coalition Government.
That means it is not possible to tell whether its auditors still consider Inclusion Foundation is in danger of collapse — as they warned at each of the end of the 2023 and 2024 financial years — or if it still engages auditors at all.
Just hours after The Klaxon’s expose last month, Inclusion Foundation updated its shuttered website to include a photo and logo — and the words “we’re working behind the scenes to launch a new and improved Inclusion Foundation website”. The site still remains shuttered.
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The Klaxon’s report last month. Source: The Klaxon
Founded by Cate Sayers in 2009, the charity provided dance classes for students with Down syndrome and in recent years branched into providing disability employment services.
The revelations come as Cate Sayers earlier this month launched new claims in her legal battle with her estranged husband — a former CEO of PwC Australia and former President of Carlton Football Club — over a nude photo scandal.
In January last year an image of Luke Sayers’ penis was posted to his Twitter/X account, tagging a female executive at insurance giant Bupa, a Carlton sponsor.
The AFL conducted a two-week investigation and, although providing no evidence, cleared him of wrongdoing, and announced the photo had been posted “by someone not Mr Sayers”.
Sayers fronts a Senate inquiry over the PwC tax leaks scandal, in 2024. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP
In January, Cate Sayers sued Luke Sayers for defamation, claiming he defamed her in a bid to extricate himself from the scandal, by falsely telling the AFL she posted the photo, and that she was “mentally disturbed”.
Her lawyers filed court documents earlier this month alleging Luke Sayers made 11 false claims in a statutory declaration he gave to the AFL.
They allegedly include that Cate Sayers was raped as a schoolchild by her teacher and his wife, and that the teacher was serving a life sentence in prison for the crimes.
“Cate Sayers alleges Luke Sayers repeatedly lied in a sworn AFL statement, including that she was raped as a schoolchild by her teacher”
The AFL is now in the spotlight over its investigation into Luke Sayers, including over allegations it took no action to verify claims he made in the statutory declaration.
Inclusion Foundation had filed its financial reports every year for over a decade until this year. Source: ACNC
In court documents, Cate Sayers’ lawyers state the AFL “investigation”, was “not conducted adequately or honestly”.
“The AFL did not carry out an adequate, independent or impartial investigation as it worked closely with Carlton and Luke directly to provide an outcome that publicly exonerated Luke from any wrongdoing,” her lawyers state.
The AFL has said it stands by its investigation. It says it cannot comment further as the matter is before the courts.
Lawyers for Luke Sayers are seeking to have the defamation case moved to the Family Court of Australia.
Media is prevented from reporting on Family Court hearings.
If that push is unsuccessful, the case is listed for trial in open court in November.
Grants to Inclusion Foundation by financial year, according to its audited accounts. Graphic: The Klaxon. Source: ACNC
Inclusion Foundation made national headlines in 2022 after Cate Sayers appeared in advertisements for Josh Frydenberg spruiking his re-election.
It is illegal for charities to endorse politicians or political parties.
In the 2022 and 2023 financial years Inclusion Foundation received record government funding.
It has publicised tie-ups with a string of major entities, including retailer JB HiFi, Deakin University, Dulux Group, mining services giant Sodexo and government-funded employment agency CVGT.
Cate Sayers appeared in illegal political advertisements for Josh Frydenberg at the 2022 federal election. Source: Supplied
Neither Frydenberg, Cate Sayers, or Luke Sayers — who was chair of Inclusion Foundation at the time — has ever admitted any wrongdoing occurred.
Each has repeatedly refused to respond to questions from The Klaxon over the past four years.
Inclusion Foundation’s “Annual Information Statement” for the 2022-23 financial year states it had 14 staff, comprised of six full-time and eight part-time employees, equating to 9.83 “full-time equivalent” (FTE) employees.
Its wages bill for the year was $1.674m.
The group’s Annual Information Statement for the 2021-22 financial year states it had 19 employees (nine full-time and 10 part-time), equating to 16.08 FTE’s, with a wages bill for the year of $1.531m.
For the 2023 financial year that’s an average of 13 FTE employees, which is $129,215 per average FTE, based on its wages bill for the year of $1.674m.
Former Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with Cate and Luke Sayers. Source: Supplied
In changes introduced by the former Coalition Government, from 2022 the definition of a “small charity” has been changed from charities with an annual revenue of under $250,000, to those with an average revenue of under $500,000.
Inclusion Foundation has told the ACNC its revenue for the 2025 financial year was $371,440.
Unlike medium and large charities, small charities are not required to file financial reports with the ACNC, or any other regulator.
Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg drastically reduced transparency in the charities sector. Source: ACNC
Small charities are required to file only an “Annual Information Statement”, which contains basic information, and which is not required to be audited.
As previously revealed, in both the 2023 and 2024 financial years, Inclusion Foundation’s auditors warned it was in danger of collapse, with a “material uncertainty” it would be unable to continue as a “going concern”.
As previously reported, in the 2024 financial year, Inclusion Foundation posted a $510,000 loss and had $173,000 in equity, about four months’ worth at that rate of losses.
