Fundraising in Victoria

Fundraising activity in Victoria is regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC).

Consumer Affairs Victoria

Consumer Affairs Victoria regulates the majority of fundraising activities in Victoria and oversees the laws that govern fundraising across the state – Fundraising Act 1998 (Vic) and Fundraising Regulations 2009 (Vic)

The Fundraising Act 1998 (Vic) regulates fundraisers and fundraising appeals or activities.

Fundraising activities may include:

• telephone and doorknock appeals
• traffic intersection and highway collections (Note: These appeals generally also require separate approval from Victoria Police and the relevant local government)
• golf days, movie nights and trivia nights
• public appeals to support clubs, associations, causes or people
• sale of goods where it is represented that part of the sale price is to be donated to a charitable organisation or cause.

Visit Consumer Affairs Victoria for more details on activities it regulates, or search the public register of fundraisers.

Fundraising registration

As part of an arrangement between the ACNC and Consumer Affairs Victoria, a registered charity is only required to notify Consumer Affairs Victoria of its intention to fundraise. The charity is not required to submit annual statements or renewals for as long as it continues to be registered with the ACNC.

To take part in this arrangement, charities that already have a fundraising registration number will need to log in to myCAV and notify Consumer Affairs Victoria that it is registered with the ACNC.

Newly registered charities - who are required to obtain a fundraising registration before undertaking fundraising activity - can access a streamlined registration process with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

For more information visit the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

Individuals and organisations exempt from the requirement to lodge a notification include:

• religious organisations (recognised denominations)
• registered trade unions and political parties
• hospitals and certain other health organisations funded by the government
• a variety of schools and educational institutions
• organisations that receive less than $20,000 gross in a financial year from fundraising, are not paid for conducting the fundraising and use only unpaid volunteers.

Fundraising legislation in Victoria sets specific ongoing responsibilities for fundraisers, including the requirement to maintain records, the use of fundraiser identification, and the use of collection tins in appeals. You can read about these responsibilities on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

Annual reporting

Charities will still be required to maintain fundraising records, but will not be required to submit separate annual statements to Consumer Affairs Victoria – instead, they can submit the Annual Information Statement to the ACNC.

Medium or large charities that only fundraise in Victoria will need to ensure that the financial reports they provide to the ACNC meet all ACNC reporting requirements.

Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) regulates raffles, lotteries and other gaming activities – including those run by charities as fundraising activities – under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic).

In Victoria, charities conducting such activities to raise funds may not need to register with Consumer Affairs Victoria as fundraisers. However, they may still be required to comply with certain rules under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic), including the need to obtain registration as a 'community or charitable organisation' from VGCCC.

It is important to note that the definition of 'community or charitable organisation' applied by the VGCCC may differ from the legal definition of charity applied by the ACNC to register organisations as charities at the federal level.

For more information visit the community and charitable gaming section of the VGCCC's website.