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Complete the charity governance tool to self-assess the steps your charity is currently taking to manage conflicts of interest, and to identify any areas of improvement.

Make notes of any discussion or action items, and discuss them at your charity's next board or committee meeting. You can print or save your answers.

Conflicts of interest

A conflict of interest is when a person's personal interests conflict with their responsibility to act in the best interests of the charity. A conflict of interest may be actual, potential or perceived, and may be financial or non-financial.

Does your charity have a conflicts of interest policy?
Yes

Having a conflicts of interest policy helps to ensure transparency, trust and accountability within your charity.

It demonstrates one reasonable step your charity has taken towards good governance and may help manage potential conflicts effectively.

No

It is important to consider whether your charity should implement a conflicts of interest policy.

A policy can help identify, prevent, and manage conflicts, ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of your charity and its beneficiaries.

The ACNC has a conflicts of interest policy template which you can adapt for your own organisation.

You should add an action item to discuss this.

Does your policy provide a definition of conflicts of interest?
Yes

A good conflicts of interest policy should include an explanation of what a conflict of interest is.

This might include an outline of what actual, perceived and potential conflicts of interest might look like in your charity’s context.

No

A good conflicts of interest policy should include an explanation of what a conflict of interest is. This might include an outline of what actual, perceived and potential conflicts of interest might look like in your charity’s context.

See our guidance on conflicts of interest policies for more information about what should be included.

You should add an action item to discuss updating your policy.

Does your policy set out how conflicts of interest are identified, disclosed, managed, and recorded?
Yes

It is important to have a clear process for when and how conflicts are disclosed and recorded.

Your charity should maintain a record of interests, including the relevant interests of your charity’s Responsible People and the steps taken, if any, to manage them.

No

It is important to have a clear process for when and how conflicts are disclosed and recorded.

You should maintain a register of interests. The ACNC has a register of interests template which you can use for your own organisation.

You should add an action item to discuss updating your policy.

Does the policy clearly articulate who it applies to?
No

A good conflict of interest policy should include the policy's scope, outlining who the policy applies to.

See our guidance on conflicts of interest policies for more information about what should be included.

You should add an action item to discuss updating your policy.

Who does your policy apply to?
For example, committee or board members, or trustees.
For example, the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief financial officer (CFO).
For example, service providers or contractors.

If your policy does not apply to all of these groups of people, consider how your charity appropriately manages conflicts of interest with different stakeholders.

For example, your charity may have more than one policy, or have different processes that apply to different stakeholders. You should add an action item to discuss if your charity’s policy needs to be updated to apply to all relevant stakeholders.

Does your charity take any of these other reasonable steps to manage conflicts of interest?

These are all good steps to manage conflicts of interest.

Your charity should regularly assess how it manages conflicts of interest to ensure appropriate measures are being taken. You should consider any of the steps you have not selected and add an action item to discuss if your charity’s policy or processes need to be updated to include any of them.

If your charity is not taking any of these steps, please consider if your charity is effectively managing conflicts of interest.

You should add an action item to discuss the measures your charity should be taking.

Does your charity take these reasonable steps when a conflict of interest arises?

It is generally recommended that a person is not present when discussing or deciding a matter where there is or could be a conflict of interest. This is the lowest risk approach to managing conflicts of interest.

However, consider the context of your charity and the matter, and consider if alternative strategies may be appropriate if properly justified and documented. This may include:

  • allowing limited participation (such as providing factual information only), if the conflict is minor or perceived, instead of actual
  • board-approved waivers in cases where the conflict is deemed manageable and not detrimental to your charity’s interests.

If these alternative strategies are used, they should be approved by non-conflicted board members, clearly recorded, and consistent with the charity’s governing documents and conflict of interest policy.

Not being present or participating in matters where there is or could be a conflict of interest is the generally recommended as the lowest risk approach to managing conflicts.

However, consider the context of your charity and the matter, and consider if alternative strategies may be appropriate if properly justified and documented. This may include:

  • allowing limited participation (such as providing factual information only), if the conflict is minor or perceived, instead of actual
  • board-approved waivers in cases where the conflict is deemed manageable and not detrimental to your charity’s interests.

If these alternative strategies are used, they should be approved by non-conflicted board members, clearly recorded, and consistent with the charity’s governing documents and conflict of interest policy.

Consider your charity’s approach to managing conflicts when they arise, and add an action item to discuss the steps your charity is taking.

Action items and topics for further discussion:

If your charity has identified any additional steps you should consider taking to manage conflicts of interest, list them here. You can bring these notes to your next board or committee meeting to discuss further.

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