Meeting charities across the country is an important way for us to understand how local conditions shape the way charities’ work.
I recently spent time in Adelaide and Perth and heard first-hand from charities about their experiences, including what’s working well and challenges they are navigating in their communities.
In Adelaide, I attended the 2026 National Volunteering Conference, hosted by Volunteering SA & NT.
I joined Danielle Press (incoming Chair, Volunteering Australia and former ASIC Commissioner) and Mark Pearce (CEO of Volunteering Australia) on a panel to discuss what happens when organisations embed good governance practices into their culture.
We explored the challenge of reframing how to think about regulatory governance requirements — from seeing them as a ‘tick box’ burden to using them as guardrails to support good, ethical decision making. I encourage those on the governing bodies of charities (called ‘Responsible People’ under the ACNC Act), to see the principles-based ACNC Governance Standards as a way to put themselves in the shoes of key stakeholders. Remembering that donors/ funders, volunteers and the public rightly expect you to be ethical stewards for the charity, including to act honestly and in the best interest of the charity for its charitable purpose, to use care and diligence and not to misuse use their position or information (and to disclose and manage conflicts of interest). And, of course, to manage the charity’s financial affairs responsibility.
I realise that the ACNC Governance Standards are not the only source of regulatory governance requirements. I appreciate that it is often the complexity and cumulative nature of requirements that is so challenging. But perhaps seeing child safety standards, or aged care and disability service requirements as guiding governance about where to set the guardrails for quality care, can be helpful.
Last week, I travelled to Perth to host a cross-agency ‘Meet the Regulators’ forum, which brought together charities and key regulators (my thanks to my ACNC colleagues and those from the Australian Taxation Office, Office of the Registrar for Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) and the WA regulator for charitable fundraising and associations).
What we all enjoyed was hearing about the varied and important work of those in the room — be that a local orchestra, a domestic violence service, supporting people living with a serious medical condition or aged care. It was also great to be able to support a local charity by hiring the meeting room from them. It can be confusing to understand ‘who does what’ and this forum gave people the chance to hear about our respective roles, as well as our top governance tips. There were common themes across all regulators — as simple as keeping your contact details up to date so we can let you know what you need to do! Also the importance of good record-keeping and taking steps to understand your obligations as a registered charity (reach out for help if you are unsure or need support).
The ACNC Advisory Board is another key sounding board for me, with broad expertise and experience. In May, four leading not-for-profit governance experts had a panel conversation with board members and ACNC staff on good charity governance and emerging issues.
It was a lively and thoughtful discussion, and the May ACNC Advisory Board summary gives an excellent overview.
Australian Charities Report - 12th edition
I’m proud that we launched the 12th edition of the Australian Charities Report a couple weeks ago. Here are some of the key findings:
- Cost of living pressures are taking a toll on charities and the communities they serve.
- Charities generated $239 billion in revenue — a 7.5% increase that outpaced growth in the wider economy.
- Expenses rose by 8.6%, to $231 billion, outpacing revenue growth.
- Charities employed 1.6 million staff, or 11% of Australia’s workforce (when compared with 2025 Australian Bureau of Statistics workforce data). And that’s a rise from 10.7% previously.
- Registered charities reported that they engaged 3.9 million volunteers — the highest registered charity volunteer count ever reported to the ACNC.
As our full report highlights (and our media release emphasises), size makes a difference. Sixty per cent of charities are small or extra small, operating with significantly fewer financial resources — not only revenue, but also their share of donations and bequests, and the assets they hold.
Our data shows yet again that the sector is a major economic force — a contribution that sits alongside its vital social role as the connective tissue for communities across Australia and abroad.
You can watch a webinar I did for Volunteering Australia where I explained our data, especially on volunteering. And remember you can easily use our data to help explain the work you do (we have a 3-minute video that shows you how to do that).
What stands out to me is how closely these insights reflect what I have heard directly from charities in recent weeks. Whether through conversations at events or the trends we see in our data, the message is consistent: charities are adapting, innovating and continuing to support their communities, often in challenging conditions.
We will keep listening and using these insights to inform how we work with the sector. In doing so, we remain focused on ensuring our approach as the national regulator is clear, fair and supportive of charities of every size, wherever they operate.
Warm regards,
Sue Woodward AM