Governance standards for charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), commenced operation today, said the Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury.
"The ACNC is Australia's first independent charities regulator, which understands charities and the important work they do in communities right across Australia," said Mr Bradbury.
"The ACNC governance standards will support our charities by providing a flexible and proportionate regulatory framework that lets them get on with what they do best – helping our community.
"They will help ensure that all stakeholders, such as the recipients of social services, volunteers, donors and the broader public, can be confident that a minimum standard of governance is being met across all charities and that the ACNC can act to protect the interests of these stakeholders if necessary."
The ACNC governance standards were developed through a comprehensive consultation process to ensure that all interested stakeholders were able to provide input and feedback. The Government thanks all stakeholders for their feedback and input as part of this process. The standards have also been subject to Parliamentary scrutiny as part of the special provisions of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2013.
"The Government has a wide-ranging not-for-profit (NFP) sector reform agenda, which focuses on supporting a strong, vibrant, diverse and independent sector.
"In addition to establishing the ACNC, we have passed legislation to ban gag clauses in Commonwealth Government contracts with the NFP sector and just last week we passed historic legislation which implements Australia's first statutory definition of charity.
"The Government looks forward to working with the NFP sector to continue to deliver reforms that will strengthen and support the sector as it grows into the future."
For more information about the ACNC governance standards visit the ACNC website.