New ACNC guidance to support small charities with good governance

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), together with Justice Connect Not-for-profit Law, has developed a set of template rules to help small unincorporated charities with registration with the ACNC and with their governance.

ACNC Assistant Commissioner General Counsel, Murray Baird, said the new template rules were developed to address a need in the not-for-profit sector.

“Clear documents or ‘rules’ not only assist good governance in a charity but also assist with registration as a charity with ACNC,” Baird said.

“However, we found that there were a significant number of small unincorporated organisations applying to be registered with us that we’re having difficulty providing documents to establish the requirements for charity registration.”

“We also received a number of requests for template governing rules, often from small unincorporated charitable organisations with limited assets and run predominantly by volunteers.”

Baird said the rules provide a starting point for organisations, which they can adapt, to suit their own needs and circumstances.

“Until now, an easy-to-use set of rules that meets ACNC and legal requirements has not been available,” said Baird.

Baird said the new template rules were developed in consultation with the sector.

Juanita Pope, Director of Not-for-profit Law at Justice Connect, said the new rules would ease the burden on small charities.

“Small member-based organisations seeking ACNC charity registration can access the template rules free-of-charge, which means they can spend more of their limited resources and time on achieving their mission,” said Pope.

“Justice Connect Not-for-profit Law is delighted to have the opportunity to work with the ACNC to provide these resources for small unincorporated not-for-profit organisations who are seeking charity registration. Our collaboration on this project demonstrates the productive way the ACNC works with sector-based organisations to support good governance and regulatory compliance by charities.

“The template highlights the clauses that will assist the organisation to meet ACNC registration requirements and will make the registration process easier for all involved.”