geelong program project 2011/13...carmen clifford committee for geelong barrabool hills centre 4...

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LeadersforGeelongProgramProject2011/13

Unpacking Federal and State Legislative Reform in the Charities and

Not‐for‐Profit Sector

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Content

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 3

Sponsors .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Team Members ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Background to the ACNC ......................................................................................................................... 7

Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Stakeholder Group .............................................................................................................................. 8

Survey .................................................................................................................................................. 8

The Conference – Knowledge to Change ............................................................................................ 8

Budget ................................................................................................................................................. 8

Discussion ............................................................................................................................................. 16

Evaluation Results ............................................................................................................................. 17

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 22

Attachment 1 .................................................................................................................................... 23

Attachment 2 .................................................................................................................................... 27

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AcknowledgementsThe Knowledge to Change Team would like to thank the following people for their invaluable

contribution to the seminar.

Jane Wager Community Development, City of Greater Geelong

Gail Rodgers Volunteering Geelong

Austin Paterson Barwon Network of Neighbourhood Houses

Lynne Wannan AM Department of Planning and Community Development

SallyAnn Stonier Australian Charities and Not‐for‐profits Commission

Jan Shorrack Australian Charities and Not‐for‐profits Commission

Stephanie Tonkin PilchConnect

Kate Fischer PilchConnect

Alison Duff Volunteering Geelong

Patrick Moriarty Our Community

James Farrell Deakin University

Melanie Twomey Harwood Andrews Lawyers

Wendy Maloney WHK

Alex Duonis WHK

Mandi Hyland Barwon Community Legal Service

Anne Lockwood Crowe Howarth

Mark Osborne Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service

Fi Mercer Fi Mercer Coaching Pty Ltd

Toby oConnor St Laurence Community Services

Carmen Clifford Committee for Geelong

Barrabool Hills Centre

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Sponsors

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TeamMembers

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Introduction

The Knowledge to Change one day conference evolved out of a desire to ensure that organisations in

the Barwon region were aware of and able to respond to the introduction of the Australian Charities

and Not‐for‐profits Commission (ACNC).

Ironically, the ACNC bills, the Australian Charities and Not‐for‐profits Commission Bill 2012 and

Australian Charities and Not‐for‐profits Commission (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2012 were

passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday 1 November, the day of the conference.

Whilst the impact of the ACNC was the initial focus, following meetings with our stakeholder group

and feedback through the survey results, we realised that legislative reform affecting charities and

not‐for‐profits (NFPs) was significant. There appeared to be a myriad of local, state and federal

legislative change that had an impact on predominantly governance but also policy and practice. It

was felt that the scope of the project needed to evolve and as such we sought out presenters to

cover a wider range of topics.

We were very fortunate that a number of individuals and organisations shared our passion to ensure

that NFPs are supported, resourced and empowered. Their contribution in preparing and presenting

information was imperative whilst our role was to create the space and bring the people.

The subsequent success of the full day conference proved that our initial concern was correct; there

was a need for information and resourcing. Our particular focus was to ensure that NFPs, particularly

smaller ones, in the Barwon region were able to transition smoothly to the new compliance regime,

were able to fully understand the governance and operational implications and the capacity to meet

all compliance requirements.

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BackgroundtotheACNC

The originating aim of the Australian Charities and Not‐for‐profits Commission (ACNC) was to reduce

the regulatory, administrative and compliance burden on charities and not‐for‐profit organisations

(the NFP sector). In early 2011, a range of measures reforming the NFP sector in Australia were

announced in the 2011‐12 Budget of the Australian Government, including the creation of the ACNC.

To support the introduction of the ACNC, an implementation Taskforce was established from 1 July

2011. The ACNC Taskforce engaged with the Not‐for‐Profit sector through consultations in early 2012

on key elements of the establishment and operation of the ACNC as the national regulator. Several

concerns expressed by NFPs during this process included the over‐reaching scope of the enabling

legislation, lack of clarity about the independence of the regulator and concern over a prescriptive

model of governance for all NFPs.

Initially planned to commence on 1 July 2012, legislation delay meant that they did not formally

commence until 3 December 2012. By this time, however, management and staff of the ACNC were

well in place and a website was ready to launch. The ACNC is now established as an independent

regulator headed by a Commissioner. It reports to Parliament through the Treasurer and is

supported by the ATO in the provision of back‐office services. The Government has provided $53.6

million over four years for the establishment of the ACNC and related structural changes required to

the ATO.

Initially, only tax endorsed charities will be regulated by the ACNC, however, the Bill establishes a

regulatory framework that can be extended to all NFP entities in the future.

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Methodology

StakeholderGroupTo start, the project team gathered together a group of people working in the community sector

who were passionate about governance of smaller NFPs. This stakeholder group comprised of

representatives from Department of Planning and Community Development, City of Greater

Geelong, Volunteering Geelong, Give Where you Live and Barwon Network of Neighbourhood

Houses. The stakeholders were able to inform the project through their experience of working in

and with NFPs and were able to identify the issues they thought were pertinent to the project.

The group identified a number of community leaders interested in the changing space of NFPs. A

meeting was convened to discuss the best way to attract organisations and deliver information in a

format that was engaging and easy to understand.

SurveyWe conducted a survey using Survey Monkey under the advice of the stakeholder group (see

attachment 1). This survey was sent to over 100 organisations across the Barwon region using

mailing lists utilised by Give Where You Live and the City of Greater Geelong. The response rate was

19. While not an enormous amount, the results were varied enough to give the project group an

indication of the gap in people’s knowledge on a variety of changes happening in the NFP sector.

Topics that were of interest to the respondents included the ACNC, the changing definition of

charity, changes in taxation and implications of changing reporting requirements.

From this survey the project group decided, with advice from the stakeholder group, to hold a one‐

day conference. The conference would be a good way to convey a large amount of information to a

large group of people in a short time. The information would need to be specialised and apply to

small to large NFPs from the Barwon area. The project group agreed that we would need to invite

specialist from Melbourne and Geelong to talk to the topics nominated.

TheConference–KnowledgetoChangeSpeakers from Department of Planning and Community Development, PILCH, Our Community, WHK,

Crowe Howarth, Harwood Andrews, Volunteering Geelong, City of Greater Geelong and

representatives from the newly established ACNC where invited to present at the conference. The

topics covered included the establishment and role of the ACNC, as well as the legal status of

charities, fundraising legislation and regulation, changes to the State Associations Act and the Equal

Opportunity Act. There was also a panel allocated to the last session, this panel was made up of local

people who sat on Boards who had first hand experience of volunteering on NFP Boards.

It was important for the day to be representative of local issues and include local people as speakers.

This was accomplished and is represented in the conference timetable below.

BudgetAs part of the project we needed to attract sponsors to make the day a success. The following

agencies helped make the day a success – Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service, Leaders for

Geelong, St Laurence Community Services, Glastonbury Community Services, WHK, Committee for

Geelong.

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Initially, the budget was prepared based on each attendee making a contribution of [$20]. The

benefits of this is that it can help ensure people attend. However, applying a cost to events may also

act as barriers to attendance, particularly for smaller NFPs who were our predominant target group.

After conversations with sponsor organisations, it was clear that in some instances sponsorship was

provided with the expectation that there would be no cost to attend the event. Whilst this placed

greater pressure on our finances, it did remove the financial barrier to attendance and allowed

multiple organisation representatives to attend without financial detriment. We are very grateful for

all the organisations that assisted us and, in particular, to Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service,

who were able to provide the additional funding to offset the loss of attendee contributions.

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14


15


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Discussion

The conference was well attended with over 80 RSVPs and on the day 77 people attended. Over the

day, participant’s reported on the diversity of the speakers and topics and at times were conflicted

about which session to attend, with many agencies represented by two people attending.

Some of the agencies attending included:

Green mums

Wathaurong

GForce

Mechanical Institute Victoria

Zena Women’s Services

Leisure Networks

Encompass

Barwon Community Legal Service

Barwon Health

Bellarine Community Health

Stride Foundation

Give Where You Live

Riding for the Disabled

Friends of the Botanic Gardens

Deakin University

DoCare

Karingal

GPAC

Volunteering Geelong

St Laurence Community Services

Glastonbury Community Services

Tuckers Funeral Services

Observations of the day saw that there was networking between sessions with larger agencies being

able to talk to smaller agencies about the impending changes in the sector. There were clearly some

very passionate people attending the day who understood the importance of governance to their

own group or organisation.

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EvaluationResults

The conference was evaluated to see if it had met the needs of the participants. From feedback

gathered on the day, the conference was well received and a huge success. From 77 attendees, 33

people filled out the Satisfaction Survey (see attachment 2).

We asked participants to rate on a scale from Excellent to Very Poor how they rated the event.

Overall how would you rate the event?

Excellent

Very Good

Fairly Good

Not filled out

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The evaluation also asked how beneficial each of the sessions had been, asking for a rating from 1 to

5. 1 being = not beneficial to 5 = being very beneficial.

The session and the results are detailed below:

1. Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) Session

2. Federal reforms session

2 3 4 5

2

3

4

5

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3. Tax and financial auditing implications session

4. State Associations Act Session

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

5

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5. Volunteers and the Equal Opportunity Act Session

6. Fundraising legislation and regulation session

2

3

4

5

2

3

4

5

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Other major findings from the evaluations showed that participants gained a broader understanding

of the role of the ACNC, the legislation associated with it and the implications it will have for NFPs.

Participants commented on gaining more knowledge of financial reporting to the taxation

department and its intersection with the ACNC. Many participants felt reassured about the

information and felt that they more fully understood the responsibilities of the changes in relation to

their organisations.

Overall participants felt that the speakers were well‐selected and presented relevant information.

They also stated that there was good participation from all they attended and chances to network in

the breaks.

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ConclusionWhile this day was highly successful, due to a lack of resources we are unable to continue to bring

these days to the Geelong not‐for‐profit community. However as a result of the one‐day conference

and some passionate people, Volunteering Geelong is pursuing a Governance Series to incorporate

into its delivery of training.

The importance of supporting smaller NFP’s recognises the diversity of our community and the

varying needs. Without such a rich array of agencies full of people with passion many causes would

go unheard. From small groups such as Green Mums and Friends of the Botanic Gardens to bigger

agencies such as St Laurence Community Services and Karingal many parts of our community would

remain unheard and unseen. Getting governance right for all of these groups, organisations and

agencies is vital to them being able to continue to serve the needs of the people they serve. Days

like Knowledge to Change, enable groups, agencies and organisations to understand the larger

contexts of their work as often people who are attracted to community work are not specialised in

legislation or taxation.

Our hope is that the day provided information as well as links to other agencies such as PILCH, Our

Community, Volunteering Geelong, Crowe Howarth and Harwood Andrews who are experts in

matters of governance for NFPs.

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Attachment1Survey

This survey is seeking your knowledge about the implementation of the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) and its impacts. The Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission is an independent regulator that will determine and regulate charities and administer the statutory definition of a charity. It is about promoting good governance, compliance with charitable law and providing charities with information to support streamlined reporting at a federal level. We have identified that many organisations find it difficult to keep up with all the changes being implemented in the not for profit sector. The information we will collect will be used to structure ways to provide you information on the ACNC and the way it will affect your organisation. In doing this we hope to build on and support the governance structures for Barwon NFPs, with a particular focus on the introduction of the ACNC. We are participants in the Leaders for Geelong program. For more information on the program see http://www.committeeforgeelong.com.au/_leaders.asp We are Nicole Rowan, Megan Peacock and De Cole, and you can contact us by email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] PRIVACY STATEMENT The information that we are collecting in this survey will be used for demographic purposes only. Any information that is used or disseminated will be de‐identified. Your information will not be passed onto any third party.

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1. Name of Organisation

Name of Organisation

Name of Contact Person

Role

Email

Postcode

Phone

2. Type of Organisation

☐ Small Entity (revenue up to $250 000 and not a DGR)

☐ Medium Entity (revenue up to $1 million if a DGR; or between $250 000 and $1 million if not a DGR)

☐ Large Entity (revenue greater than $1 million)

☐ Other (please specify)

3. Are you registered as one or more of the following? Tick all that apply

☐ Public Benevolent Institution

☐ Deductible Gift Recipient

☐ Tax Concession Charity

☐ Incorporated Association

☐ Company Limited by Guarantee

☐ Corporation

☐ Indigenous Corporation


4. How are you funded?

☐ State Government Funding

☐ Federal Government Funding

☐ Philanthropic Funding

☐ Donations

☐ Fundraising

☐ Business revenue/Commercial Operations


5. Which is your primary source of income? Please state

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The Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission are registering charities from October 1 2012. We want to know how aware you are about its implications for your organsiation. By answering the following questions you will allow us to identify where the gaps in knowledge are. 6. Are you aware of the ACNC?

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ Unsure

7. Do you know if it will require a constitutional change for your organisation?

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ Unsure

8. Will it affect the way you report to your funding bodies?

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ Unsure

9. Are you worried about new compliance requirements? For example change to reporting and

what will be reported?

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ Unsure

10. Do you have the resources to monitor and implement related changes to your organisation?

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ Unsure

11. So you have any other concerns or thoughts about the ACNC implementation?

12. How would you prefer to receive more tailored local information, if you are interested, in the

ACNC?

☐ Local forums

☐ Newsletter

☐ Seminar

☐ Links with larger agencies

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13. Are there any other topics that you are interested in?

☐ Definition of Charity

☐ Taxation implications

☐ Reporting requirements


14. Where does your organisation generally obtain information about governance?

☐ Web

☐ Your board

☐ Our Community

☐ PilchConnect

☐ DPCD – NFP compliance centre

Thank you for completing this survey

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Attachment2Satisfaction Survey

Name: Organisation: Position: Suburb:

Overall how would you rate the event?

Excellent

☐

Very Good

☐

Fairly Good

☐

Ok

☐

Poor

☐

Very Poor

☐

What has worked well?

What could be improved?

On a scale of 1 to 5 rate the usefulness of the information received at today’s conference, fill in all that apply.

Not beneficial Very Beneficial

Australian Charities and not for profit Commission (ACNC)

1 2 3 4 5

Federal reforms

1 2 3 4 5

Tax and financial auditing implications

1 2 3 4 5

State Associations Act

1 2 3 4 5

Volunteers and the Equal Opportunity Act

1 2 3 4 5

Fundraising legislation and regulation?

1 2 3 4 5

What two things did you take away from today that will help you and your organisation into the future?

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Any other comments

geelong program project 2011/13...carmen clifford committee for geelong barrabool hills centre 4...

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