Steering the Bible Society required 28 directors’ meetings during the 2024/5 financial year, which saw the sale of the Koorong bookstores, and total assets reduced from $65m to $45m. The Bible Society 2025 Financial Statements published on the ACNC website paint a picture of a difficult year, which led to the sale of significant properties later in 2025.
The net deficit for 2025 was $14,913,000, and for 2024 was $17,350,000, a combined deficit of $32,263,000 over the two years.
A note to the accounts reveals the impact of Koorong: “The parent entity net deficit for 2025 includes the net deficit on discontinued operations of $13.2 million. The parent entity net deficit for 2024 included a loss on disposal of $16.7 million for the former investments in Koorong Books Pty Ltd and Crossroad Distributors Pty Ltd.”
These significant losses at Koorong were key to the deterioration in the Bible Society’s fortunes. However, the accounts also show a brighter picture in the total funds held by Bible Society as $39,370,000 for 2025 against $42,966,000 for 2024.
In the second half of 2025, the Bible Society Macquarie Park property was sold for $21.5m ($21m after costs), and another property was sold for $2.1m ($2m after costs). The value of these properties is included in the 2025 accounts as “Non-current assets held for sale,” contributing to the total funds figures.
Income from the lease of the Macquarie Park property previously covered the cost of the Bible Society’s North Sydney headquarters, which will now have to be sourced elsewhere.