The Church of Scientology headquarters in Chatswood, Sydney.
The Church of Scientology has shifted tens of millions of dollars into Australia, which has become an international haven for the controversial religion where it makes tax-free profits with minimal scrutiny.
The finances of the Church of Scientology, founded by US science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, have been almost entirely shrouded in secrecy since its inception, but an investigation by
The Age and
Sydney Morning Herald has uncovered the most detailed financial information available anywhere in the world.
The figures reveal a big increase in the church’s wealth in recent years, even though census data shows it now has fewer than 1700 adherents in Australia – down by one-third in a decade.