Submission to the Inquiry of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics into the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill

This submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics responds to its inquiry into the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Bill. Research Australia states that it broadly supports the Bill’s objects of maintaining public trust in the not-for-profit sector and sustaining a robust, independent sector, and acknowledges the value of a comprehensive public register of charities, given the importance of philanthropic funding to health and medical research. Its main concern is that the aim of minimising regulatory duplication and simplifying registered entities’ interactions with governments, included in the earlier exposure draft, has been removed. It maintains that the Commissioner’s obligation to have regard to minimising procedural duplication (Clause 15-10(f)) is a weak substitute, and recommends that this aim be restored to the objects in Clause 15-5(1). It also recommends clarification of the term ‘class’ of registered entities in Clause 60-80, recommends that entities only need to notify the Commissioner, rather than seek approval, when changing their accounting period (Clause 60-85), and recommends that information-gathering and monitoring decisions under Divisions 70 and 75 be subject to the review and appeal provisions of Part 7-2. A typographical error in Clause 120-25(1) is noted.