
I have recently had the pleasure of meeting with charities in both metropolitan and regional Australia – and it has shown that while every charity has a different purpose, the overall goal is to provide a benefit to the community. I will continue to meet with charities whenever I travel, to hear more about their work but also ascertain if the ACNC can provide any further education, support or advice.
While hearing from charities is valuable, we are determined to remain proactive in delivering resources that are beneficial to the charity sector more broadly – as evidenced by the release of our two flagship reports in recent months.
In recent weeks, we launched the Australian Charities Report 2017 – an annual offering which analyses the information provided by registered charities in their Annual Information Statement each year. The report found charities have noticed an increase in volunteer numbers – more than 3.3 million Australians now donate their time to a registered charity. Charities also reported an increase in total revenue in 2017, to just under $148 billion.
Earlier in 2019, the ACNC launched the Charity Compliance Report 2018, our annual report into the activities and work of our Compliance directorate. As well as providing basic insight into our work, this year’s report contains a unique, real-life case study from registered charity Guide Dogs Victoria – designed to offer other charities an insight into the importance of risk management.
These flagship reports are an important element of the ACNC’s efforts to give back the data we collect and the insights we gather to the charity sector and the broader public.
I look forward to continuing this work throughout the year, and developing new opportunities to highlight and share the incredible work of Australia’s charity sector.