Following the Coalition’s election win in September, the Government has continued its rhetoric that it will dismantle the Australian Charities and Not For Profits Commission (ACNC) and move all regulatory functions to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
With the ACNC still in its infancy, this has brought great uncertainty to the NFP and charity sectors. Minister Andrews indicated in mid-October that the Government would begin consultations with the sector to discuss the Government’s transition plans, with any implementation unlikely to be in place before the end of 2014.
On balance, it is our view that the ACNC is likely to survive due to the complexity in unwinding the legislation connected with it and the political uncertainty around passing the necessary amendments. In our view it is likely that some of the current, and what some in the sector would consider more onerous, obligations upon charities administered by the ACNC may be relaxed where legislative approval is not required or can be negotiated.Continue Reading New Government Brings Uncertainty to the Not-For-Profit and Charity Sector