Possible step towards fundraising harmonisation
18 September 2020
In a positive step towards achieving our #fixfundraising campaign objectives, a working group of state and territory officials issued a discussion paper on a proposed cross-border recognition model for charitable fundraising licences.
Under the proposed model, a charity already registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) would be deemed to hold a local fundraising authority in each participating state or territory. While there are further issues to address, we welcome developments that could lead to the harmonisation of fundraising laws in Australia. Read our latest Fair Matters blog post 'We're on the way to finally #FixFundraising' for more information about the proposed model and the #FixFundraising campaign.
Submissions in response to the discussion paper could be filed up to 18 September 2020.
Our response to the discussion paper included the following submissions:
- As long as there are no additional requirements or conditions imposed by any State or Territory, we welcome the use of registration with the ACNC as the mechanism for achieving a single national authorisation to fundraise. The benefits of a single authorisation point are red tape reduction, clarity and improved compliance.
- We urge all States to adopt the ACT approach so that there are no additional authorisation or reporting requirements beyond obtaining and maintaining ACNC registration.
- We need to address other aspects of the red tape burden of current charitable fundraising laws.
Charities Crisis Cabinet publishes Australian Fundraising Principles
To address other problems with the current charitable fundraising laws, we endorse the Charities Crisis Cabinet’s proposed Australian Fundraising Principles (another attempt by the sector to #fixfundraising).
The Charities Crisis Cabinet’s draft Australian Fundraising Principles are published in an article written by David Crosbie (CEO of the Community Council for Australia) and published by Pro Bono Australia on 17 September 2020 ‘Now or never – Time to fix fundraising’.
We are a member of the Charities Crisis Cabinet and will keep working to harmonise fundraising laws.
Find out more about our campaign to #fixfundraising!
