ACNC seeks feedback on draft Annual Information Statement

Charities will use the Annual Information Statement (AIS) as the primary method of reporting to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

The 2013 AIS will be due six months after the end of the charity’s 2012–13 reporting period, which will be 31 December 2013 for most organisations. Charities won’t need to provide any financial information for the 2013 AIS.

From 2014 onwards the amount of financial information charities will need to provide the ACNC is dependent on the size and type of the charity.

“We are aware that for some charities, the 2014 AIS will be first time they will have been asked to report financial information to a Commonwealth government regulator,” says ACNC Commissioner Susan Pascoe.

“To minimise the impact on charities, we have been careful to only request financial information that we will actually need under the ACNC Act, and we are also giving charities and members of the sector an opportunity to comment on the proposed financial questions.

“The feedback we receive from the consultation will go a long way in helping the ACNC determine how to best frame the questions, so I would like to strongly encourage charities and interested members of the sector to contribute by the closing date of 26 April 2013.”

The AIS is designed to enhance public trust in the not-for-profit sector by increasing transparency as information gained through the AIS will be published on a public register.

In the short term, charities will also find that reporting through the AIS to the ACNC will streamline the process of applying for and receiving government grants. The recently released Commonwealth Grant Guidelines mandate that government agencies must not seek information from grant applicants and grant recipients when that information is already collected by the ACNC.