Call for nominations for ACNC advisory board

Government calls for public nominations for the ACNC advisory board, naming key skills being sought.

The federal government is calling for public nominations for the advisory board of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), a group that will support the new commissioner when they are appointed.

Nominations are being handled by Treasury, which is also handling recruitment for the role of commissioner.

Assistant Minster for Charities Andrew Leigh said the advisory board would be critical to the new ACNC commissioner’s efforts to reinvigorate the charity sector.

“There has been a serious decline in volunteering and community engagement in recent decades, and Liberals’ war on charities only made the problem worse,” he said.

“After nine years of neglect under the Coalition there is a great deal of work ahead to help the charity sector rebuild.

“In the Albanese government, the charity sector has a true partner. We will work collaboratively with charities to reconnect Australia. The ACNC advisory board has an important role to play in that work.”

Applicants need to have expertise relating to not-for-profit entities (including charities) or “expertise and sufficient qualifications in relation to law, taxation or accounting”.

According to the position description, the government “anticipates partnering with sector representatives on additional reform consultations, and applications may also be used to fill emerging roles in the not-for-profit space”.

More information can be found on the Treasury website.

According to the ACNC website, the terms of the current board members will run out between August and November 2023. The current members are:

• Unicef Australia CEO Tony Stuart (chair)
• Chief executive of Aruma, Associate Professor Martin Laverty (deputy chair)
•  Uniting NSW.ACT board member David Pigott
• Specialist charity lawyer Heather Watson
• Chartered accountant and former PwC partner Peter Hogan