The ACNC have recently released an information paper ‘Remunerating Charity Board Members‘ for charities considering paying board members for their services as a board member. The term ‘board members’ is used throughout the information paper to generically refer to the responsible persons of a charity, such as committee members, directors or Trustees. The ACNC have… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: ACNC
Crowdfunding and Charities
Posted in Fundraising, GovernanceCrowdfunding has become a very popular method of online fundraising for charities and not‑for‑profits. It generally involves an organisation setting a fundraising target online and then asking those on the internet (the crowd) for donations to reach that target. The ACNC has issued some information for charities and donors about the use of crowdfunding. In… Continue Reading
Reporting Deadline for Charities and Public Ancillary Funds Fast Approaching!
Posted in Compliance, Fundraising, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusThe ATO and ACNC are reminding charities and ancillary funds that the annual reporting period is fast approaching. Charities Charities registered with the ACNC (that have an annual year end of 30 June) have less than a week to submit their Annual Information Statement (AIS) to the ACNC. The AIS should be lodged via the… Continue Reading
ACNC Releases Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement on Public Benevolent Institutions
Posted in Compliance, Fundraising, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusThe ACNC Commissioner has just released the ACNC’s Interpretation Statement on Public Benevolent Institutions. The Interpretation Statement provides guidance on the ACNC’s interpretation of the law pertaining to Public Benevolent Institutions (PBI) and insight into how the ACNC and its staff will assess a charitable organisation’s entitlement for endorsement as a PBI. The Interpretation Statement… Continue Reading
Ensure Your Charity Complies with the ACNC Governance Standards
Posted in Compliance, GovernanceMost Charities will be aware that it is a condition of registration as a Charity (other than as a basic religious charity) that the Charity complies with the ACNC Governance Standards which have applied since 1 July 2013. However, it is not enough that the Charity complies with the ACNC Governance Standards at the time… Continue Reading
ABR and ACNC enter into a data sharing agreement
Posted in Compliance, General, GovernanceIn a further step to provide a user-friendly and reliable source of data for the community, last week the Australian Business Register (ABR) and Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission (ACNC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate data sharing between the two agencies. Occasionally, there are data discrepancies between the two registers… Continue Reading
Charity Sector Update
Posted in Compliance, Fundraising, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusFuture of the ACNC slowly becomes more certain Earlier this month, the (then) Minister for Social Services Scott Morrison stated that “there is very strong support for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and I don’t believe there would be any support in the Senate for there to be any change.” Many in the sector were… Continue Reading
Template Governing Document Released by the ACNC
Posted in Compliance, Fundraising, General, GovernanceLast week the ACNC released a one page document to be used as a template governing document for registered charities who otherwise don’t have a constitution which satisfies the requirements of the ACNC. This template governing document is for charities which are created by an Act of Parliament or are governed by Canon Law and… Continue Reading
ATO releases Draft Special Conditions TR2014/D5
Posted in Compliance, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusThe ATO has released the Draft Special Conditions Ruling TR 2014/D5 – Income Tax: special conditions for various entities whose ordinary and statutory income is exempt In August the ATO released draft ruling TR 2014/D5 regarding the proposed application of special conditions inserted by the Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures… Continue Reading
The Future of the ACNC Remains Uncertain
Posted in Compliance, Fundraising, General, GovernanceThe Future of the ACNC Remains Uncertain On 16 June 2014 the Senate Committee delivered a divided report on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (Repeal) (No 1) Bill 2014 (No 1 Bill). No 1 Bill Unsurprisingly, the Liberal Senators supported the abolition of the ACNC, however, the Labor and Greens Senators offered dissenting reports… Continue Reading
Missing charities could lose tax concessions
Posted in Compliance, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusThe ACNC has recently released a register of charities that have not responded to communication from the regulator (i.e. no known address/contact details or correspondence has been returned to sender). Charities on this database risk losing their entitlements to charity tax concessions and have until 30 June 2014 to update their details and contact the… Continue Reading
Starting a Charity or Not-for-Profit
Posted in General, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusStarting a Not-For-Profit or Charitable Organisation Are you thinking about starting an organisation, charity, club, association, social enterprise, co-operative or some other kind of not-for-profit group? If so, this information may be helpful. What’s the Difference between a Charity and a Not-For-Profit?
Government to Repeal the ACNC
Posted in Compliance, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusGovernment Introduces Legislation to Repeal the ACNC This morning the Coalition Government introduced a suite of legislation to repeal thousands of Acts, Bills and Regulations in an effort to “cut red tape”. In line with the Government’s pre-election promise, the planned abolition of the ACNC has been tabled as part of the Australian Charities and… Continue Reading
Abolition of the ACNC Takes Shape
Posted in Compliance, General, GovernanceThe Coalition Government has stated that it will seek to abolish the ACNC along with more than 8000 federal laws on 19 March as part of its plan to reduce red tape. This confirms the Government’s pre-election commitment to abolish the ACNC. Although Minister Andrews has said that the ACNC would be replaced by a… Continue Reading
ACNC Annual Information Statement Deadline Approaching
Posted in Compliance, General, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusACNC Deadline Approaching Have you submitted your 2013 Annual Information Statement? Regardless of size or purpose all charities registered with the ACNC must submit an Annual Information Statement to the Commissioner each year. The first AIS will need to be completed for the 2012-2013 financial year. If your charity has a financial year calendar (ending… Continue Reading
Government Announces more Legislative Changes for Charities
Posted in Compliance, General, Governance, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusThe Government has started to “clear the backlog of legislative matters and restore integrity to the Australian taxation system” by announcing the outcome of the review of 92 unlegislated tax programs.
Charities Act to Commence on 1 January 2014
Posted in Compliance, General, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusOn Thursday last week (the last sitting day before the Christmas break), the Senate adjourned debate on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 (which included the amendment to delay the Charities Act) and ran out of time to return to the debate before rising for the holidays. This means that the Charities Act… Continue Reading
Charities Act Delayed and ACNC to be Abolished
Posted in Compliance, General, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusEarlier this week, the Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews reconfirmed his plans to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). At the Disability Services CEO conference Minister Andrews stated “to benefit civil society as a whole, the Government has committed to abolishing the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, with repeal legislation to be… Continue Reading
ACNC Annual Information Statement – 2013 Deadline Extended
Posted in Compliance, General, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusSome Good News From the ACNC! The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) has just announced that the reporting deadline for the Annual Information Statement (AIS) due on 31 December 2013 for many charities has been extended to 31 March 2014. Regardless of size or purpose all charities registered with the ACNC must submit an… Continue Reading
ACNC Charity Portal Goes Live
Posted in Compliance, GeneralYesterday the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC) launched the new charity portal. The ACNC charity portal is an online service where you can: access and update your charity’s details immediately on the ACNC Register submit your Annual Information Statement onto the Register print a copy of your charity’s registration certificate. It is only available… Continue Reading
New Government Brings Uncertainty to the Not-For-Profit and Charity Sector
Posted in Compliance, General, GovernanceFollowing 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…. Continue Reading
Are you eligible to Bulk Lodge your Annual Information Statement with the ACNC?
Posted in Compliance, General, GovernanceCharities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) are required to submit an Annual Information Statement (AIS) each year. To make AIS reporting easier for organisations such as a corporate trustee administrating multiple trusts, or an administrative office for multiple religious charities, the ACNC released form 4C Annual Information Statement – Bulk Lodgement… Continue Reading
CPA Guide helps ACNC Charity Compliance
Posted in Compliance, GeneralCPA Australia has just released a new guide “Charities – A guide to financial reporting and assurance requirements” to assist charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) to understand and comply with their various reporting obligations. This resource is the first of its kind and sets out in plain English the range… Continue Reading
ACNC Private Ancillary Fund Privacy Opt-in Extended to 30 June 2014
Posted in Compliance, General, Governance, Liability & Risk, Tax Exemptions & DGR StatusUnder the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission Act 2012, certain information must be published by the Commissioner on the ACNC Register for the public to view. This information includes the entity’s name, ABN, sub-type, governing rules, details of responsible entities, information statements, financial reports or any other information the Commissioner is authorised to collect. This… Continue Reading