EXCLUSIVE
The sixteen-year-old charity of former Melbourne power couple Cate Sayers and Luke Sayers — who was ousted as Carlton president over a “dick pic” scandal — is on the verge of collapse.
Auditors of the Inclusion Foundation have warned there is a “material uncertainty” it will be able to continue as a “going concern”, three years after it was embroiled in scandal over spruiking then Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for re-election.
Cate Sayers founded Inclusion Foundation, which provides dance classes to people with Down syndrome, in 2009, but departed late last year, leaving Luke a director.
Last month it was reported the couple had ended their long-time marriage, three months after Luke Sayers was ousted as president of Carlton Football Club amid the lewd photo scandal.
Inclusion Foundation’s accounts show it posted a $510,000 loss last financial year, leaving it with just $173,000 in equity at June 30 — about four months’ worth at that rate of losses.
Grant Thornton Audit partner Derek Ng said the losses indicated “a material uncertainty exists that may cast doubt on the Association’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
Inclusion Foundation did not respond to requests for comment.
The charity has previously received significant positive media coverage, including in Vogue magazine and on Channel Nine television.
Its woes are despite well publicised tie-ups with major entities including retailer JB HiFi, Deakin University, Dulux Group, mining services giant Sodexo and government-funded employment agency CVGT.
“It has been a rocky three years for the Sayers, who have been beset by rolling scandals”
Cate Sayers appears in Vogue. Source: Vogue Australia
Inclusion Foundation’s Instagram, Twitter/X and LinkedIn social media accounts all appear to have gone dormant, with none of the accounts posting in more than two months.
Key parts of the charity’s website are also currently inoperable, with both the “view classes” and “enrolment” links directing to broken pages. It also lists out-of-date information, including that Cate Sayers remains a director.
In January, two weeks after the lewd photo scandal broke, The Klaxon exclusively revealed she had departed Inclusion Foundation.
“Inclusion Foundation’s social media accounts appear to have gone dormant”
Cate Sayers departs Inclusion Foundation. How The Klaxon broke the story in January. Source: The Klaxon
Australian Securities and Investments Commission filings show Cate Sayers resigned as director on October 19 last year. The filings show Luke Sayers’ sister, Kirsten Sayers, was appointed director of the charity the day before, on October 18.
Kirsten Sayers, 57, is a former diplomat who works in the not-for-profit sector, according to her LinkedIn profile.
It has been a rocky period for Luke and Cate Sayers, who have been beset by rolling scandals over the past three years.
Over that same period, government grants to Inclusion Foundation — much of it from the Federal Government under former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg — have evaporated.
“Government grants to Inclusion Foundation have evaporated”
Revenue from government grants crashed from $1.59 million in 2022 and $1.51m in 2023, to just $82,800 last financial year.
There was “no additional grant funding available to the Association”, Inclusion Foundation’s directors write in the most recent annual report.
Josh Frydenberg at Inclusion Foundation’s “impact21 graduation ceremony” in March 2021. Source: Nine News
In April 2022, weeks out from that year’s federal election, Cate Sayers appeared in advertisements spruiking Frydenberg for re-election.
That was despite it being illegal for charities to endorse politicians or political parties — under strict laws introduced by Frydenberg’s Coalition.
In early 2023 the PwC Australia tax leaks scandal broke.
It revealed PwC Australia had taken secret government tax policy data, and spruiked it to multinationals seeking to avoid Australian tax.
Luke Sayers was PwC Australia CEO from 2012 to 2020, and so for all relevant periods of the tax leaks affair.
Fronting the Senate inquiry into consultancies and Senate Estimates, he was accused of being “wilfully blind” or misleading the Senate.
The Carlton Football Club rejected calls to axe Sayers over the PwC scandal.
Luke Sayers embroiled in a “penis photo scandal”. Source: The Klaxon
In 2020, when he departed PwC, Luke Sayers created Sayers Group, a mini-PwC style “consultancy”.
Sayers Group changed its name to Tenet Advisory and Investments, in an attempt to distance itself from the scandals facing Luke Sayers, with its new website going live last week.
“Sayers Group changed its name last week”
He stood down as Sayers Group chairman when the lewd photo scandal broke, but is chairman of the newly-badged company.
“Quite simply, our people are good and do good,” the consultancy states.
Luke Sayers said there had been “disproportionate media intrusion into my private life”.
“The distractions of inquiries into the PwC matters over the past two years, followed by more recent and disproportionate media intrusion into my private life, have been challenging for all,” he reportedly said.
“It is the right time to move forward with a new identity, as we transition from a start-up to a significant participant in the sector.”
On January 9, a lewd photo was posted to Luke Sayer’s Twitter/X account, tagging a female executive at insurance giant BUPA, a key Carlton sponsor.
Sayers initially claimed he had been “hacked”.
A subsequent investigation by the AFL’s Integrity Unit found the picture was posted by “a person not being Mr Sayers” but the AFL, Carlton and Sayers, did not elaborate. Sayers would depart as president “effective immediately”, Carlton announced.
The Inclusion Foundation website states its current chair is Laura Green.
Company searches showed the charity has seven directors, Luke Sayers (55) and Kirsten Sayers; Green (41); Jason Chequer (54); Michael Williams (60); Karina Posanzini (49); and Helen Flannery (69).
The Inclusion Foundation’s website contains incorrect information, including that Cate Sayers is a director. Source: Inclusion Foundation
Luke Sayers and Cate Sayers have four daughters, one of which was born with Down syndrome.
Cate Sayers founded Inclusion Foundation in April 2009, after being unable to find “an appropriate dance class to meet her daughter’s learning needs,” her LinkedIn profile states.
The dance component of the charity is called emotion21.
In 2019 it launched a “pilot program” to assist people with Down syndrome gain employment.
Called impact21, the program was in conjunction with Torrens University Australia, Deakin University, JB Hi-Fi, Dulux Group, Sodexo and CVGT.
In March 2021 the charity held its first “impact21 graduation ceremony”, which was covered by Channel Nine television and attended by then Treasurer Frydenberg, the local MP.
The charity’s website does not mention any subsequent graduation ceremonies.
Do you know more? anthonyklan@protonmail.com
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