This week we published new resources to help charities with crucial aspects of governance.
The new resources, called the Governance Toolkit, provide guides and templates to help charities manage four important risk areas: financial abuse, cybersecurity, working with partners and safeguarding vulnerable people.
The Governance Toolkit is available on a new page on our website dedicated to governance resources – a governance ‘hub’. This hub is home to a range of important governance resources, including information on the Governance Standards and the External Conduct Standards, the new Governance Toolkit, the Small Charities Library and our Governance For Good and Managing Charity Money guides.
The range of resources, all designed to help charities manage their governance, are available at acnc.gov.au/governance.
We will continue to update these resources, so keep an eye on the website for further developments.
'Double defaulter' charities
Around 1,500 ‘double defaulter’ charities now have less than a week to submit their overdue Annual Information Statements.
If charities, that received a notice of intention to revoke, fail to submit their overdue Annual Information Statements by close of business on 26 August 2019, they will have their charity registration revoked.
If you are unsure if your charity is up-to-date with its ACNC reporting obligations, I would encourage you to check the ACNC Charity Register and submit any outstanding reporting as soon as possible.
For further information, or to see the list of charities at risk of revocation, visit acnc.gov.au/doubledefaulters.
Overdue Annual Information Statements
More than 10,000 charities failed to submit their 2018 Annual Information Statements by the due date.
Those charities have now been issued with overdue reminder notices.
The ACNC can impose financial penalties on charities that fail to submit on time.
If you have received one of these reminder notices, I would encourage you to submit your 2018 Annual Information Statement as soon as possible to avoid financial penalties.
More information about the 2018 Annual Information Statement, including a helpful checklist and guide, is available on the ACNC website at acnc.gov.au/2018AIS.
2019 Annual Information Statement is now available
The 2019 Annual Information Statement is now available for charities to submit online through the Charity Portal.
Charities who operate on a 1 July to 30 June financial year have until 31 January 2020 to submit the 2019 Annual Information Statement.
We have also published a helpful guide to assist charities complete the Annual Information Statement.
You can read the 2019 Annual Information Statement guide here.
Opportunity to have your say on modern slavery
The New South Wales Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues has announced an inquiry into the Modern Slavery Act 2018, the Modern Slavery Amendment Bill 2019 and the draft Modern Slavery Regulation 2019.
The inquiry provides the opportunity for the public to help inform the NSW Government’s response to modern slavery.
This legislation will affect charities with annual revenue between $50 million and $100 million with employees in New South Wales.
You can find out more about the inquiry and how to make a submission on the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues website.
Submissions close 4 October 2019.
External Conduct Standards webinar
Earlier this week we hosted a webinar on the newly implemented External Conduct Standards. It was a very well attended webinar, and we received a lot of interesting questions.
If your charity operates overseas in any capacity, and you missed the webinar, I would encourage you to take the time to listen to the webinar recording on our website.
A video of the webinar, and a download of the associated slides, are available here.
Best wishes,
The Hon Dr Gary Johns