Australian Charities and Not- for Profits Commission the six month - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Australian Charities and Not- for Profits Commission – the six month report card Catholic Health Australia 17 July 2013 Murray Baird Assistant Commissioner General Counsel Australian Charities and Not-for Profits Commission

An Australian Charities Commission a new independent statutory agency , the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Federal Budget May 2011 (ACNC)

Charity sector: Who is in? • Welfare and disability; • (Non Government) Schools, Universities etc; • Churches, Religious organisations • Conservation, Arts, Childcare, Community infrastructure

Charities Commission

What will ACNC Do? Registration Compliance Education and guidance Information

Deregistration Graduated Sanctions Investigation Assistance Guidance

The Vital Signs • 1 million hits on website; • 52 guides and fact sheets; • 57,000 charities from ATO; • 740 new charities; • 11.4 days to register a charity; • 14,500 calls answered; • 6,900 written queries answered • 4,000 face to face presentations and consultation attendees; • 119 complaints about charities

What does a charity need to do? • Keep records; • Report annually; • Notify changes.

Report Once, Use Often • If you already report and the information covers ACNC needs, we will work with other agencies to exchange reports • 2013 AIS has no financial data; • 2014 AIS has limited data fields with accounts attached for medium and large.

Ducks in a row

Governance Standards  A set of principle based minimum governance standards;  Charities must comply to be registered  Ensure a minimum level of accountability  Basic Religious charities are exempt PRESENTATION TITLE | DATE

Basic Religious Charities • A Registered charity • For advancement of religion • Not in another category (such as education or welfare) • Not incorporated under Association or Corporations Acts • Not a deductible gift recipient (except operating a DGR with annual revenue of less than $250K) • Not part of a reporting group; • Not receiving more than $100k in government grants.

Why?  Members, Donors, Volunteers, Public  Confidence that the Charity is acting openly, accountably and transparently  For its stated Sunlight is said to be one of the best purpose Sunlight is said to be one of the best disinfectants..  In an effective and Louis Brandeis efficient manner

Five Governance Standards • Purposes and character of an NFP entity • Accountability to members • Compliance with Australian laws • Suitability of responsible entities • Duties of responsible entities

Charities Act 2013 • Advancing health; • Advancing education; • Advancing social or public welfare; • Advancing religion; • Advancing culture; • Promoting reconciliation/mutual respect/tolerance; • Human rights; • safety of general public; • Suffering of animals; • natural environment; • Analogous purposes; • Change or opposing change in the law to aid the above purposes

Advancing social or public welfare • Relieving poverty, distress or disadvantage; • Caring for and supporting the aged, including residential and non-residential care; • Caring and supporting people with disability; • Assisting Australia’s disadvantaged Indigenous people • Refugees; • Unemployed; • Housing for special needs or housing disadvantage; • Distress in natural disasters or sudden catastrphes; • Overseas aid

Finding out more: www.acnc.gov.au Providing you with access to information is a priority for us • Weekly Commissioner Column (sent to 6,193 subscribers) • Media alerts and releases and newsflashes • Aboriginal Liaison officers • podcasts and videos – coming soon • Phone: 13 ACNC (13 22 62) 8 am to 8 pm AEDST • Email: advice@acnc.gov.au • Social media: facebook.com/acnc.gov.au twitter.com/acnc_gov_au youtube.com/ACNCvideos