Not-for-Profit Organisations
PilchConnect monitors legal issues of relevance to the not-for-profit sector and undertakes advocacy and law reform work. PilchConnect has made numerous submissions to State and Federal government inquiries and reviews. These have been on issues of relevance to the not-for-profit sector such as:
- tax laws
- reporting and disclosure regimes for not-for-profit community organisations
- legal structures for community organisations
- financial reporting
- reducing the regulatory burden on not-for-profit community organisations
- fundraising laws
- access to public sector information.
For recent submissions see below.
2010 Senate inquiry into the 'Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill 2010'
The Senate Economics Committee is currently considering proposed reforms to Australia’s tax laws which, if adopted, would require religious and charitable organisations to satisfy a 'public benefit' test before being entitled to tax concessions or exemptions. The Inquiry is taking place in response to concerns raised by certain Senators about the tax deductibility of some organisations currently classified as religious institutions.
A 'public benefit' test is currently in place within other jurisdictions, including England and Wales where, in 2006, legislation was passed which requires that a charity's purpose must be for the public benefit. This test is applied in the UK by the Charity Commission, an independent regulator for the charitable sector.
Please see below for links to PilchConnect's submission to the proposed amendments, as well as a link to the Senate Committee's page dedicated to this inquiry.
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This link will take you to a PDF version of PilchConnect's submission to the Senate Economics Committee's inquiry into the need for a 'public benefit' test.
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This link will take you to the homepage for the Senate Economics Committee's inquiry into the need for a 'public benefit' test.
2010 Victorian Government - Incorporated association reforms
In early March 2010 Consumer Affairs Victoria released a draft Associations Incorporation Amendment Bill 2010 for public comment (see link below for a copy of the Bill). PilchConnect requested its release to give the community sector an opportunity to provide comments.
PilchConnect has been closely tracking these and earlier (phase 1) reforms. Submissions closed on 31 March, 2010 (click on the link below to read the PilchConnect submission on the Bill). Our submission includes overall comments, as well as more detailed recommendations on the drafting. While many of the reforms are desriable, we want to ensure key provisions are understandable for volunteer committee of management members. The Government proposes commencement in mid-late 2011.
2010 Commonwealth Treasury - Companies limited by guarantee
On 4 December 2009, the Federal Government (Treasury) announced a proposal to amend the Corporations Law which will affect the 'company limited by guarantee' legal structure. There are currently over 11,000 not-for-profit organisations that use this legal structure.
A draft Bill was released setting out changes to the reporting obligations of these (not-for-profit) companies and submissions were called for. On 2 February 2010, PilchConnect made a submission on the draft Bill (see below). By way of background, note that PilchConnect also made a submission on the 2007 discussion paper that first raised possible reforms (see below).
The changes could come into operation as soon as 30 June 2010. PilchConnect will track the reforms, keep this website updated, notify people via our monthly e-bulletin and earlier by tweets! (See below for links).
2009 - 2010 Productivity Commission study into the contribution of NFPs
On 17 March 2009, the Federal Government requested that the Productivity Commission conduct a study into the contribution of the not-for-profit sector to Australian society. The Commission released a draft report on 14 October 2009 and its final report on 11 February, 2010. PilchConnect made detailed submissions on initial Discussion Paper and on the Draft Report. The Commission's final report makes a number of references to the PilchConnect submissions, and the value of the PilchConnect service itself.
The study was to inform the Government on what it can do to improve the measurement of the NFP sector's contribution, and remove unnecessary obstacles (ie red tape) to maximise the sector's contribution. It was a major undertaking with 318 submissions received. Its final recommendations set out a road map for major reform of the regulatory environment for the not-for-profit sector, including the establishment of a new Commonwealth Registrar that would operate as a 'one-stop shop'.
Please see below for links to the final report, PilchConnect's comments on the key recommendations, as well as PilchConnect's submissions and media releases and analysis provided by ACOSS.
Past Submissions
To read other PilchConnect's law reform submissions see PilchConnect's past submissions.
Regulatory reform - events, podcasts and more
Click here for information about PilchConnect's regulatory reform events.