Strong governance is the backbone of a well-run charity. It builds trust, supports transparency, and helps ensure that your charity can deliver on its mission with confidence.
One of the most powerful tools for good governance is effective record-keeping.
Accurate records help charities demonstrate accountability — not just to the ACNC, but to donors, beneficiaries, and the broader community. They provide a clear picture of decision-making, financial management, and compliance with legal obligations.
In short, they help you tell the story of your charity’s work and impact. All this helps you attract and retain donors, volunteers and board members.
Effective record-keeping helps charities show how they are meeting the legal obligations that come with charity registration.
Whether it’s documenting board meetings or AGMs, maintaining accurate financial statements, or keeping track of key policies, well-kept records help ensure that charities are operating lawfully and responsibly.
For these reasons, we have made record-keeping one of the ACNC’s 2025-26 regulatory focus areas.
Our work has consistently shown us that where charities aren’t maintaining effective records, there are failures in other key areas of organisational governance.
A survey of charities overdue to lodge their first Annual Information Statement showed that 49% failed to meet their reporting obligations due to poor record-keeping practices.
By making record-keeping a regulatory focus we are aiming to prevent problems.
For many charities, especially those run by volunteers, record-keeping can feel like an unimportant ‘admin’. But, especially for small charities, it doesn’t need to be complex.
Simple, consistent practices — like using templates to provide structure and clarity, storing documents securely, and reviewing records regularly — can make a big difference.
By investing in good record-keeping, you can strengthen your charity’s governance and set it up for long-term success.
The second area of regulatory focus for the ACNC in the year ahead relates to the risk of charities having their funds misused for the purpose of terrorism financing.
To many, this will seem like a niche risk — one only relevant to a handful of Australian charities.
But we know from the 11th edition of the Australian Charities Report that almost 8,500 of Australia’s charities operate overseas, playing a vital role in supporting communities across 144 different counties.
Any organisation operating or transferring funds internationally can be vulnerable to misuse. It’s important that charities consider this risk and take reasonable precautions to ensure their resources aren’t being inadvertently used to finance terrorist activities.
Again, there are some key, simple things that can be done. Over the coming year, we will put extra effort into educating and supporting charities to adopt strong governance practices that reduce exposure to this risk.
This will include updating our resources on conducting due diligence on overseas partners, as well as effective record-keeping and staying aware of information available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Remember, we are putting resources into these regulatory focus areas because we want to help you achieve your charitable purposes, protect your charity’s reputation, and safeguard the people and communities you serve.
Together, we can sustain the robust and vibrant charity sector that you’ve heard me describe before as 'a powerhouse for good' — both in Australian communities and overseas.