From the very beginning in 1994, the AVN has always been a membership and donation-driven organisation, relying on the support of our members… All memberships include a subscription (either hard copy or digital – your choice) to the AVN’s magazine, Living Wisdom. (Meryl Dorey – AVN president)

Is The Australian Vaccination Network Australia’s leading Charity Fraud?

In 2009 a small group of concerned Aussies began to raise dissent with health authorities about a group of vaccine conspiracy theorists known as The Australian Vaccination Network. It very quickly became apparent that something much darker was unfolding behind the locked and censored doors of the leader of this cult-like group, Meryl Wynn Dorey.

The AVN was like a black hole for money and their Charitable Fundraising Authority was the Event Horizon. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were sucked into their two bank accounts as promise after promise and scam after scam was presented to members. It seemed that every remote issue related to vaccination was cause for a new fund raising drive.

The vital need to test vaccines, the need to protect health workers from vaccination, the need to save school girls from HPV vaccines, the need to allow unvaccinated children into childcare, the need for $52,000 seemingly just to have and to hold from this day forth. The need to advertise about vaccines and autism, the need to help a family “on the run from vaccination”, a competition to beat a $500 donation, the need to fund legal fees for another family in court (over $100,000). On and on and on came the demands for money.

Yet no project ever eventuated. No family received so much as one cent. They were abandoned to the courts with the AVN nowhere in sight. No feedback on any of this money has ever been provided.

Then the little group discovered the AVN’s false use of business names. AVN members were paying to fund AVN material to be produced and passed to new mums under the auspices of certain businesses. Except the businesses had never heard of this and recoiled at the mention of the AVN. It was a complete scam to fleece members. Then came the “information packs” being sold. Except they were full of stolen copyright material. Once again, scam after scam going on and on with excuse after excuse.

The totality of fraud is mind boggling and after a couple of initial jaw droppers, I’ve only returned to writing about it recently.

As you’ll see in the video below the text at the top of this article is misleading. Dorey’s genius is in picking a passing demographic. Expectant parents will be drawn in to her scams, subscribe, join and then be overwhelmed by the reality of a new family or a new child. Few will chase up the one or two hundred dollars that nice lady took. Like all scams, embarrassment and red tape, with the possibility of more expense to get back much less inhibits victims from taking serious action.

Consider the 205 professional members I can glean from Meryl’s listing at present. One can pay up to $1,500 for a Gold Professional. It includes:

Gold Professional Membership to the Australian Vaccination includes a Subscription to Living Wisdom Magazine  for 1 year

Now, this is curious. Some ordinary members have asked why there was only one magazine out of the nine promised from the start of 2011 to the middle of 2012. They were told if they weren’t so stupid and actually read the announcement Meryl published they’d know that “6 magazines per year” now just meant “6 magazines… when the AVN is good and ready”.

Yes the new Join Us page has no mention of any time limit you silly members. Then again it isn’t very clear in explaining that you may need to leave the subscription to your grandchildren:

Membership includes 6 editions of Living Wisdom magazine (either hard copy or digital or both if you choose) and there are discounts available for 12 and 18 issue memberships.

Eighteen issues?! At the present rate that’s going to take twenty seven years… and counting.

So, why are Gold Professionals still being sold yearly subscriptions as above? Indeed, what of professionals who bought annual or three year memberships because of the frequent and regular exposure promised in the Living Wisdom magazine? Gold and Silver Professionals were promised:

A Healthy Choices ad in Living Wisdom magazine for 3 issues – value $450.00

So whether professionals paid $275 for one year or $700 for three years, let’s check what they relied on in making that decision.

• A free listing for your business or practice in Living Wisdom magazine and on the AVN website. Just hang in there another 18 months or more.
• 6 issues of Living Wisdom magazine in the printed format. At one issue per 18 months that’s going to take nine years.
  The magazine covers the most up-to-date news happening around the world involving vaccination. The last issue contained a PDF by Judy Wilyman’s supervisor that’s all over the internet for free, and some whacky conspiracy claims arguing against the real science of vaccination that you copied and pasted from elsewhere or just made up.
• 6 issues of Living Wisdom magazine in the digital format
  Digital magazines are the way of the future, with a simple click of a button you can have a magazine downloaded to your computer to read at your leisure. The “click of a button” eh? My that does sound all space agey. Thank goodness they’re “the way of the future” because we have no way of predicting how the world will even look by the time they all come out.
  A link will be emailed to you every time we have a new magazine ready for you to read. All you will need to do is click on it and you will have all our great articles at your fingertips. Of course by 2021 and beyond information will be beamed directly to your eye lens display, and the magazine will simply appear as if floating right in front of you.
• 10 free issues of Living Wisdom online magazine to give away to clients or colleagues. Remember to leave instructions in your will so your descendents can visit your dying clients or colleagues, or perhaps leave them at the graveside. Don’t let on – it’ll be a terrific surprise.
• A 10% discount on books, CDs, DVDs, etc. from the AVN shop. AVN Books, DVD’s and CD’s etc are available for free all over the internet or at much less price than the AVN want.
• Advance notice of seminars, webinars and workshops around the country and, in many cases, a membership discount. Wow. I get to find out about the same repetitive autism and cancer claims and actually pay to fly there.
• Access to the AVN website. This contains pages and pages of great news articles on vaccinations and childhood immunizations collected over many years. You haven’t really had a close look lately have you Meryl.
• Discounts and premiums from some of our other Professional Members. These include specials on everything from homoeopathic and chiropractic visits to purchases at retail shops. You have 1 occupational therapist, one physiotherapist, one Bowen therapist, one herbalist, one TCM practitioner etc, etc… and 135 chiropractors! Who goes to a chiropractor associated with the AVN anyway?!

Arguably, there are plenty of reasons for victims to not want to draw much attention to themselves after being tripped up by self-confessed “rabid, idiotic fringe dwellers”.

Dorey has at least ceased using the title “Australia’s leading vaccination expert” as she amusingly used to bill herself.

But Australia’s leading charity fraudster is sounding pretty good about now.