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A discussion paper on Charitable Fundraising Regulation Reform has been issued by The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP. Information on how to make a submission on the discussion paper is available at the Australian Government Treasury website. Submissions close on Thursday 5 April.
What is a charitable collection? The charitable collection legislation aims to:
promote the proper management and administration of charitable collections;
ensure proper record keeping and auditing of accounts for charitable collections; and,
ensure the public has access to information about charitable collections.
Individuals or organisations may apply for a charitable collection licence by completing an Application for a New or Amended Charitable Collection Licence.
In general a charitable purpose includes:
the relief of poverty or sickness or the needs of the aged;
the advancement of education;
the advancement of religion; or,
purposes beneficial to the community (benevolent, philanthropic and patriotic).
For a purpose to be charitable it must also be for the public benefit and:
not confer a private advantage;
not be harmful to the public; and,
also may be extended to include social, mental and spiritual benefits.
A collection is the soliciting or receiving by a person of money or a benefit if, before or during the soliciting or receiving, the person represents that the purpose of the soliciting or receiving, or that the purpose of an activity or enterprise of which the soliciting or receiving is part, is or includes a charitable purpose.
A collection does not include:
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit from the carrying out of an approved lottery or exempt lottery, other than an exempt lottery for a charitable purpose;
soliciting or receiving a bequest under a will;
soliciting a person to become a member of an entity or to pay the joining fee or membership fee of an entity;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit by, or on behalf of, an entity on premises owned or leased by the entity from members and guests solely or mainly for the entity’s purposes;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit solely or mainly from people sharing a common employer, principal or workplace by one of those people for a purpose connected directly with another of those people or with a relative or domestic partner of another of those people;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit from an Australian government (including local government) or a public entity created by, or that represents in any capacity, an Australian government (or local government);
receiving money or a benefit by an entity that is not solicited by the entity or is not conducted by the entity because of a collection conducted by the entity;
the soliciting or receiving money by a school if the money is a genuine fee or charge by the school for educational purposes or a voluntary contribution to the school for educational purposes that is solicited or received from a person with parental responsibility for a child who is enrolled at the school;
the soliciting or receiving of money by a body affiliated with a school for the educational purposes of the school;
the soliciting or receiving of money or a benefit by an entity if the proceeds received from collections conducted by the entity is less than $15,000 in a financial year;
the soliciting or receiving of money or a benefit by a non-government organisation accredited with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) (whether or not the money or benefit is used, or intended to be used, solely for aid in a foreign country);
the solicitation or receipt of sponsorship from a corporation;
the soliciting or receiving of money by a trustee corporation for administering a trust fund for a charitable purpose; or,
the soliciting or receiving of money by, or on behalf of, an entity if the proceeds received from the collection conducted by, or on behalf of, the entity are for a trust fund for a charitable purpose administered by a trustee corporation.
How is fundraising different to charitable collections? Fundraising conducted by an entity for the objects and purposes of the entity is not a charitable collection unless the entity is using the money or benefit for a charitable purpose.
What do I do if I am collecting on behalf of someone else? A person taking part in a collection must display an identifying tag or badge that contains certain information including:
the person’s surname or a unique number given to the person by a person who conducts the collection;
licensee’s name or if the licensee has a logo that is reasonably well known by the general public;
the purpose of the collection; and
if the person has received or will receive money or a benefit for taking part in the collection, a statement that the collector is a paid collector.
Before soliciting or receiving the money or benefit, the person must also make available required information including:
the purpose of the collection;
how and where the net proceeds of the collection will be spent; and
a business telephone number for the licensee.
What is a commercial fundraiser? A commercial fundraiser is a person or entity who is engaged on a commercial basis by a person or entity conducting a collection. A commercial fundraiser does not usually have a charitable purpose of their own. Commercial fundraisers would generally be licensed to collect under another entity’s charitable collection licence.
I know I need to report to government, what do I need to do? A licensee must provide a report to include all the collections conducted under the licence by completing a Financial Reports to the Chief Executive for a Charitable Collection .
The report must include all the required information for each collection to which the licence relates. Reports must be provided under the following circumstances:
for a licence issued for a period of 1 year or less the report must be provided within 120 days after the licence ends; or
for a licence issued for a period longer than 1 year the report must be provided within 120 after the end of each 12 month period until the licence ends.
Who has to have a licence (exemptions)? If you or your organisation are collecting money or a benefit for a charitable purpose you or your organisation will need a charitable collections licence. You will not need a charitable collections licence where the collection is:
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit from the carrying out of an approved lottery or exempt lottery, other than an exempt lottery for a charitable purpose;
soliciting or receiving a bequest under a will;
soliciting a person to become a member of an entity or to pay the joining fee or membership fee of an entity;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit by, or on behalf of, an entity on premises owned or leased by the entity from members and guests solely or mainly for the entity’s purposes;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit solely or mainly from people sharing a common employer, principal or workplace by one of those people for a purpose connected directly with another of those people or with a relative or domestic partner of another of those people;
soliciting or receiving money or a benefit from an Australian government (including local government) or a public entity created by, or that represents in any capacity, an Australian government (or local government);
receiving money or a benefit by an entity that is not solicited by the entity or is not conducted by the entity because of a collection conducted by the entity;
the soliciting or receiving money by a school if the money is a genuine fee or charge by the school for educational purposes or a voluntary contribution to the school for educational purposes that is solicited or received from a person with parental responsibility for a child who is enrolled at the school;
the soliciting or receiving of money by a body affiliated with a school for the educational purposes of the school;
the soliciting or receiving of money or a benefit by an entity if the proceeds received from collections conducted by the entity is less than $15,000 in a financial year;
the soliciting or receiving of money or a benefit by a non-government organisation accredited with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) (whether or not the money or benefit is used, or intended to be used, solely for aid in a foreign country);
the solicitation or receipt of sponsorship from a corporation;
the soliciting or receiving of money by a trustee corporation for administering a trust fund for a charitable purpose; or,
the soliciting or receiving of money by, or on behalf of, an entity if the proceeds received from the collection conducted by, or on behalf of, the entity are for a trust fund for a charitable purpose administered by a trustee corporation.
How can the money be disbursed? The proceeds of collections must not be applied for any purpose other than the stated purpose of the collection. All proceeds are to be banked into the collections bank account within 5 working days of receipt. The gross proceeds of a collection must be clearly documented for financial return information.
Money including the proceeds of a benefit received by a licensee during a collection that is not immediately required to be applied for the charitable purpose, may be invested only in a way authorised by law for the investment of trust funds.
Licensees are able to deduct lawful and proper expenses in the running of the collection. Reasonable expenses are those incurred by the licensee in:
conducting and carrying out the collection;
administering and distributing the proceeds of the collection;
complying with the legislation; and,
any other expenses stated in the application for the charitable collection licence.
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