In 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
Future 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
Last 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
The 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
What organisations or entities does the ruling apply to?
The ruling applies to a number of income tax exempt entities (but not all) which are listed at Section 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA).Continue Reading ATO releases Draft Special Conditions TR2014/D5
The 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 appealing for the ACNC to continue. The dissenting reports noted that the ACNC is preferable to returning to the previous regime of regulation by the ATO and ASIC.
The No 1 Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on 19 March and now will return to the House of Representatives where it is likely to be passed by the lower house. Part 1 of the Bill contains the necessary provisions to repeal the ACNC and Part 2 provides for transitional arrangements, importantly, allowing for the Minister to specify a successor agency.
If passed, the Bill won’t come into operation until the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (Repeal) Bill (No 2) (which has not yet been introduced) is successfully passed.Continue Reading The Future of the ACNC Remains Uncertain
Government 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 Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill 2014 (the Bill). The Explanatory memorandum to the Bill states “the abolition of the ACNC is part of the broader Government red tape reduction and deregulation agendas.”
The proposed abolition of the ACNC is intended to occur through a two stage process; the initial Bill to repeal the ACNC has been introduced to Parliament but (if it is passed) will not take effect until a subsequent Bill regarding replacement arrangements is introduced in the winter sitting period.Continue Reading Government to Repeal the ACNC
Earlier 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 introduced into Parliament next year”.
This statement is unsurprising as it reinforces the Coalition Government’s stance to abolish the ACNC.
On Wednesday 4 December, Minister Andrews introduced a late amendment to the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 to delay the commencement of the Charities Act 2013 until 1 September 2014. The Charities Act is currently due to commence on 1 January 2014. The Act provides a statutory definition of charity and was passed on the penultimate sitting day before Parliament rose before the election. For more information on the Charities Act please see our previous blog.Continue Reading Charities Act Delayed and ACNC to be Abolished
Yesterday 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:
It is only available to registered charities and is password protected.
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
Charities 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 yesterday.Continue Reading Are you eligible to Bulk Lodge your Annual Information Statement with the ACNC?