SA Govt Reduces Charity Red Tape
7 December 2015 at 1:57 pm
The South Australian Government has introduced legislation to remove duplicate licence and reporting requirements for charities.
The legislation will exempt charities that are registered with the national charity regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), from reporting requirements under the SA Associations Incorporation Act, and from the need for a separate SA fundraising licence.
“The ACNC warmly welcomes the South Australian Government’s introduction of legislation that will reduce red tape for registered charities. This legislation will benefit thousands of charities doing great work in South Australia,” an ACNC spokesperson told Pro Bono Australia News.
“Red tape reduction is an Object of the ACNC Act and has been a key focus area for the ACNC since establishment. In the 2014-15 Annual Report and Strategic Plan 2015-18, ACNC Commissioner Susan Pascoe AM, cited red tape reduction as a priority for the ACNC going forward.
“The ACNC will continue to work with other state and territory governments and their agencies to align or reduce reporting requirements for registered charities.”
The legislation also abolished the need for different fundraising licences for events and for general fundraising, combining them into one licence category for non-ACNC registered charities.
The state’s peak welfare body said it would benefit up to 1,000 charities who had duplicate reporting requirements. Overall, there are 4,000 SA charities registered with the ACNC.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) Executive Director, Ross Womersley, welcomed the legislation.
“This is a good piece of red tape reduction which will make it just a bit easier for SA charities to focus on their core work,” Womersley said.
“This legislation was first mooted two years ago, but was delayed by Federal Government moves to abolish the ACNC – moves that thankfully did not get through the Senate. Now the future of the ACNC seems more assured, it is good to see that SA has again taken the lead in using the services of the national regulator to reduce red tape for federally registered South Australian charities.
“The ACNC registration provides a good level of transparency and public accountability for charities, and this legislation acknowledges that – while still maintaining SA legislative safeguards for charities that are not federally registered.”
