Our teams
The ACNC has six directorates, each of which plays a crucial role in helping us achieve the objects of the ACNC Act.
Advice Services, Education and Public Affairs
Our Advice Services team provides information to charities and members of the public about a wide range of topics related to charity governance and the charity sector. The team responds to written and phone enquiries about obligations and legislation affecting charities, and helps people navigate the ACNC website, Charity Register and Charity Portal. Advice Services also processes forms submitted by charities and undertakes projects to ensure the Charity Register has correct and up-to-date information. Enquiries made to Advice Services help the ACNC identify information gaps and improve our services to charities, their advisors and the public.
Our Education and Public Affairs team manages internal and external communications, including the ACNC website, publications and social media, as well as government and media relations. The team is responsible for developing guidance and resources to help charities meet their obligations to the ACNC and for building the profile of the ACNC with the public, including promoting accessible information about Australia’s charity sector.
Compliance
Our Compliance team works across the whole of government to address risks that pose a threat to trust and confidence in the charity sector. The team uses analytics and intelligence to identify risks in the sector and cases for investigation.
When resolving non-compliance in a charity, the team takes proportionate action to ensure it addresses the issues; the action we take is determined by the risk and non-compliance we seek to address. We consider several factors in determining appropriate action, including the severity and persistence of a charity’s non-compliance, the risk of harm to the sector and community, and the willingness of the charity to work with the ACNC to address the non-compliance.
The ACNC uses a combination of education and guidance to encourage compliance in charities and investigative methods to address non-compliance and support charities to meet their obligations. When investigations find that a charity has been involved in serious or deliberate non-compliance, the ACNC may use its enforcement powers or revoke the charity’s registration with the ACNC.
Information Technology
Our Information Technology (IT) team manages the implementation, maintenance and support of IT services, platforms and solutions.
The team manages system configuration and architecture and information governance and provides data to support operations and help inform strategic decisions. It also manages the data exchange activities with other government agencies.
Legal and Policy
Our Legal and Policy team advises the Commissioner and our staff on interpretation and application of the ACNC Act, the Charities Act and other applicable legislation and regulations. This includes providing advice and training to ACNC staff. The team also manages legal proceedings on appeal from ACNC administrative decisions.
Legal and Policy advises on memoranda of understanding with external agencies, agreements and contracts, and manages obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). It also coordinates submissions to parliamentary inquiries and consultative bodies on policy and legislative initiatives.
Reporting, Red Tape Reduction and Corporate Services
Our Reporting and Red Tape Reduction team administers the ACNC reporting framework and works with other government agencies to reduce red tape for charities through the alignment of regulatory obligations. The team oversees the design and data integrity of the Annual Information Statement, administers various reporting obligations set out in ACNC legislation, and manages the ACNC Charity Passport. The Reporting and Red Tape Reduction team also undertakes analysis of ACNC data, including Annual Information Statement submission statistics, data analysis for the Charities Report and measures of the ACNC Act’s second object.
Our Corporate Services team oversees resource management and is committed to developing and maintaining a high performing workforce that can effectively deliver the priorities set out in our corporate plan while managing organisational risks. The team works collaboratively to increase efficiency and innovation in the ACNC’s human resource, governance and financial functions.
Registration
Our Registration team is responsible for assessing charity registration applications and adding information about newly registered charities to the Charity Register. The team also assesses and processes requests from charities to have information withheld from the Charity Register, to have new charity subtypes added to their registration, and to have their registration revoked. The team helps streamline the process for obtaining Commonwealth charity tax concessions by collecting and passing on the information required by the ATO on behalf of charities.