It was fantastic to have hundreds of people from across Australia and overseas attend our annual Governing for Good Forum on Wednesday 30 July.
Participants included advisers, academics, government policy makers and representatives from charities of varying sizes and types.
For those who joined the event in person, we met on Wurundjeri land.
The Wurundjeri word for welcome is Wominjeka, which is more than simply a greeting – it’s an invitation to come with purpose.
As I prepared for the forum, the shared purpose our attendees would bring to the day - to support the good governance and continued trust and confidence in our vibrant and innovative charitable sector - was top of mind.
For me, the day was a wonderful opportunity to engage with so many different people who contribute to the important work of our sector.
We explored a number of topics with a terrific panel of speakers, and my team and I shared some key pieces of work too.
This included highlighting our partnerships with other regulators to streamline reporting, undertake compliance activities, and ensure the best guidance is available for the sector.
Recent collaborations with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Australian Signals Directorate and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner contribute not only to the work of the ACNC but also benefit our partner organisations; fostering a thriving, healthy sector.
At the end of the last financial year, we had registered the highest number of charities ever, over 4,600.
The increase in registration applications we received reflects updated requirements of the ATO for NFPs with a charitable purpose seeking to maintain tax concessions. I’m pleased to report that in the face of that increase in applications, we’ve reduced our processing times for registering new charities down from four months to most being completed in under four weeks.
Additionally, we’ve recently developed two new pieces of work to support good governance.
Our new constitution templates for charitable companies limited by guarantee aim to help charities and not-for-profits create a suitable governing document.
There are five different templates available, and the hope is that it will be useful for many charities.
We’ve also recently published new guidance to help charities operating within a complex structure ensure they have strong governance and comply with their obligations.
This resource is part of our education-first approach, and I know my international colleagues are very pleased that we've put forward this guidance because it's something they're also very interested in.
I hope this resource is invaluable for those charities operating within a complex structure to understand and manage risk.
Looking ahead, I was also pleased to share some of the upcoming work that the ACNC will be focusing on in the coming months and year.
We will be updating our Commissioner's Interpretation Statement on housing. We will be trialing new ways to make our website more accessible, particularly to non-English speaking audiences and those who prefer the spoken word. We'll be continuing to work on improving the on-time reporting rates, and we'll be looking at ways to support charities to improve their record keeping.
Many of you will have heard me speak about the importance of good governance for charities.
It’s the underpinning for public trust and confidence, and as Michele Levine the CEO of Roy Morgan Australia observes “Trust is critical, because it bridges divides which helps individuals and organisations to navigate uncertainty and complex challenges with confidence and shared purpose”.
Thanks again to everyone who joined our Governing for Good Forum last week.
Video recordings from the day will be available soon.
Stay tuned for more details on our social media channels (LinkedIn Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram). You can also revisit the forum’s agenda here.
Warm regards,
Sue Woodward AM