This month’s column provides an update on the ACNC’s work and focus areas, based on an opening statement delivered by ACNC Commissioner Sue Woodward AM at a Senate Estimates hearing on 28 October 2026 at Parliament House in Canberra.
The ACNC provides updates to senators several times a year as part of our commitment to transparency and accountability. You can read more about our work and achievements in our recently published 2025–26 ACNC Annual Report.
Opening statement - Senate Estimates
Since our June appearance before Senate Estimates, I am pleased to share some of the key work of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).
With funding provided in the 2026 federal budget, the ACNC is working with ASIC to develop technology to automate the transfer of key data, including details of Responsible People (directors). This work will reduce charity red tape by streamlining data sharing with ASIC, with data sharing expected to commence by 1 July 2027.
In June, we released the 12th edition of the Australian Charities Report, our latest comprehensive annual analysis of sector data (the findings are based on 53,641 Annual Information Statements). The report is further supported by our Charity Data Explorer, which can provide breakdowns based on location, size, subtype and more. We understand the importance of high-quality data and its role in boosting transparency and bolstering confidence in the sector; it is used widely by charities, researchers, philanthropists and policy makers.
The report observes that registered charities engaged 3.9 million volunteers – the highest charity volunteer count ever reported to the ACNC. There were 2.5 volunteers for every employee engaged by the sector. Again, the long-term trend of about half of all charities operating with no paid staff continued, with 53% in the current report relying entirely on the generosity of volunteers.
The report also highlighted the challenging economic environment in which charities continue to operate. Charities generated $239 billion in revenue, a significant 7.5% increase that surpassed growth in the wider economy. However, growth in expenses rose even faster, increasing by 8.6%, to $231 billion.
In August, our annual Governing for Good Forum welcomed over 130 attendees in person, and more than 400 online. The annual event included 20 speakers sharing sector insights on topics such as governance and working with partners. Of our survey respondents, 90% said they were satisfied with the event. The recordings are promoted via our social media and are available on the ACNC’s YouTube channel, with session views continuing to grow.
We also released a major update to our Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement on housing in August. The Statement provides charities and their professional advisers greater clarity on a range of contemporary community housing models, funding approaches and charity law principles. The updated Statement was developed following extensive public consultation with community housing peak bodies and regulators. It provides clarity around how the ACNC applies the law – to determine what is and isn’t charitable – when assessing community housing charities.
Each year, we announce our regulatory focus areas. Our focus areas are complementary to our ongoing compliance and enforcement priorities. In 2026–2027, our regulatory focus areas will be governing documents and working with partners.
- Where governing documents are missing, outdated, incomplete, and/or inconsistent with a charity’s activities, or not well-understood by its Responsible People, this can contribute to misunderstandings, internal disputes, mission drift, and compliance concerns.
- Given the prevalence across the sector of formal and informal collaborations, it is important Responsible People understand the value of well documented arrangements and their ongoing oversight responsibilities, especially when partners deliver activities on a charity’s behalf.
As Commissioner, I also appeared before the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, and the recording of my appearance and written statement have been published on the Royal Commission’s website.
Our 2025–2026 ACNC Annual Report has just been tabled. It is very pleasing to see an improvement in on-time reporting for the 2025 Annual Information Statement, with a rate of 76%, an increase from 73% the previous year and higher than our performance target of 75%. The report also details continued sector growth, with 3,696 charities registered, bringing the total to 66,071, up 3.8% from 2024–2025.
Another stand out in the report was the popularity of our revised constitution templates for companies limited by guarantee – downloaded nearly 12,000 times in just 9 months. This supports our emphasis on contemporary, fit for purpose governing documents as we know these documents are foundational to good charity governance.
As we approach the end of the year and the festive season, we will continue to promote the use of the Charity Register (searched 2.1 million times in 2025-26) as the place for people to check before they donate – a core way in which the ACNC’s work supports the contribution of registered charities to communities.
Sue Woodward AM
Commissioner
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission