The federal government has pulled taxpayer funding from Australia’s top disaster relief organisation after an internal revolt over allegations of fraud and misuse of funds plunged it into voluntary administration.
Disaster Relief Australia was feted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and led by two of Australia’s most decorated military commanders, Major General Andrew Freeman and Brigadier David Smith. In 2022, it was awarded a $38 million federal government grant to run hundreds of disaster relief operations across Australia, including responses to the Lismore floods, Cyclone Jasper and the Black Summer bushfires.
But in December, this masthead revealed claims that Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) inflated membership numbers, used opaque recruitment practices, prioritised marketing over missions, and pushed out whistleblowers who raised concerns.
In a letter to volunteers on Thursday, Freeman…