The Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Governments have announced further tangible steps to reduce red tape for the not-for-profit (NFP) sector.
The ACT Government will carve out charities registered by the ACNC from regulatory requirements under relevant ACT legislation, such as the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT).
The changes will mean that charities incorporated as associations in the ACT will only need to report to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and not the ACT Office of Regulatory Services. Amendments will also be made to the Charitable Collections Act 2003 (ACT).
Commonwealth Minister for Social Inclusion, Mark Butler MP, said that the decision by the ACT Government is a further step towards delivering reforms to cut red tape for the NFP sector.
"It's good to see the ACT moving quickly to deliver on the promise of these reforms and I look forward to working with other jurisdictions to deliver similar outcomes for the NFP sector nationally," said Mr Butler.
As announced in October last year, South Australia is also progressing changes to align its regulatory framework for incorporated associations and fundraising with the ACNC.
Commonwealth Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury MP said the decisions by the ACT and South Australian governments demonstrate that there is growing momentum for delivering the smarter streamlined national regulatory framework which the NFP sector has long been asking for.
"The ACNC was only established in December last year, and already we have two jurisdictions signed up to the new regulatory framework," said Mr Bradbury.
The ACT Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Andrew Barr, said that this initiative is being undertaken as part of the ACT Government's Community Sector Reform Program, and is another step forward in the ACT Government reducing red tape for the sector.
"This will result in real red tape reduction for community sector organisations that are registered with the ACNC, enabling organisations to shift resources to frontline service delivery."
The ACNC is the first national regulator for charities in Australia. It registers and regulates charities seeking Commonwealth support including access to tax concessions and other Commonwealth exemptions, concessions and benefits. It is also developing a "Charity Passport" as a mechanism to share information across Commonwealth Government Departments and reduce duplicated reporting.
For more information about the ACNC, please visit www.acnc.gov.au.