Senator the Hon Zed Seselja

The Morrison Government welcomed another significant step yesterday on the path towards fundraising harmonisation and red-tape reduction for the charitable sector, with the release of a discussion paper on a proposed cross-border recognition model.

The Government has been working with the states and the ACT, led by NSW, on fast-tracking work on fundraising harmonisation.

The release of this discussion paper builds on work across jurisdictions to cut red tape for charities, including streamlining requirements for charities with state reporting obligations so charities are only required to report once to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) in participating jurisdictions, and encouraging the use of the charity passport to reduce the requirement of charities to report to multiple regulators.

Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters, Senator the Hon Zed Seselja, said he has worked with state counterparts on the issue of fundraising, and was pleased to see the release of this paper.

“The Commonwealth is conscious of the differing regulatory requirements for charitable fundraising across the states. The proposed cross-border recognition model would reduce the burden on the charitable sector which is currently facing reduced donations and greater reliance on online fundraising due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Assistant Minister Seselja said.

“We have been working to fast-track the harmonisation of fundraising, particularly with New South Wales who are leading the states in work on the cross-border recognition model, and the release of this discussion paper is a significant step towards reducing the unnecessary red-tape burden our charities face.”

The release of the discussion paper follows the commitment of the Morrison Government in its response to the ACNC Legislation Review to continue to support the efforts of the states and the ACT to harmonise fundraising laws. In addition, the Morrison Government is progressing a suite of red-tape reduction measures as part of the response to the Review.

Under the cross-border recognition model, a charity already registered with the ACNC would be deemed to hold a local fundraising authority in each participating state or territory.

The consultation process will run for three weeks and seek feedback from industry and members of the public. More information about the consultation process is on the New South Wales Fair Trading Consultation Page.

Submissions will be open until 18 September 2020.