Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to raise the somewhat vexing issue of tax deductibility for expenses incurred by our volunteers, especially in the wake of the devastating fires in Victoria. Volunteer fire services, like the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and of course the Country Fire Authority, the CFA, in Victoria—those great volunteers who have worked so hard, so tirelessly, and sacrificed so much—are not able to claim a tax deduction for any equipment they buy in support of the work they do or indeed for any of the petrol their vehicles use in getting to where they volunteer to help make our community safer.

At present our volunteers cannot claim expenses as a deduction on their tax, as our tax system only allows deductions against income earned. You are allowed to deduct an amount that you incurred whilst earning your income. Volunteering, by its very nature, does not earn an income, and generally any stipend—if the word can be used—or other amount earned is tax free.

The value of volunteer groups across the nation is outstanding. No-one in this place would discount what volunteers do. In fact, there are more volunteers per head on the Gold Coast, where my seat of Fadden and my neighbouring seats of Moncrieff and McPherson are, than in any other commensurate place in the nation. We know volunteering; we love volunteering. I especially thank Leticia Vargas of Volunteering Queensland for all of her hard work. But this parliament needs to have a serious debate about making legitimate expenses incurred by volunteers tax deductible against their primary source of income.

I will give the parliament one great example of a group of volunteers—people who come together to assist; communities that come together with community spirit to make a difference. In one of my communities, Coombabah, a number of ladies got together to say, ‘How can we help the people ravaged by bushfires down in Victoria?’ These are people who are not very wealthy but they wanted to do something. They approached the centre manager at Coombabah Plaza, a man called John Corby, who very generously allowed them to put on a fundraiser at Coombabah Plaza and agreed to have the centre open on Saturday, when the shops are normally closed, to allow the fundraiser to occur. So a group of fabulous local residents—Kay Hobson, Francis Vause, Vicki Tuck, Coral and Neil Honey and Jocelyn Reynolds—got together and said: ‘Let’s have a fundraiser—a sausage sizzle and a raffle—with the proceeds to go to the bushfire and wildlife appeal.’ They engaged the majority of local businesses at the Coombabah Plaza, and those businesses generally gave of their time, their expertise, their goods and their manpower. Those businesses at Coombabah Plaza—Liquorland, the Animal Welfare League, Northern Performance Realty, Vines Cafe Bistro, Coombabah Pharmacy, Lyndal’s Hairdresser, Hillsea Real Estate, Access One Home Loan Centre, Coombabah Newsagency, Coombabah Bakery and Coffee Shop, Anne Dines Hair Salon, Your Interior Designer, Coombabah Meat Man, Avanti Bridal and Formal and Spar Express—all contributed. This wonderful group of volunteers raised $1,847.80 through donating their time and resources.

The plaza came alive as people and the community got together for a worthwhile cause. People volunteered their time, their talents and their efforts. The community came together, and it was fabulous to see. Whilst so many businesses gave of their time in such a great volunteering spirit, I especially mention the local bakery that gave so much bread that they did not have enough for their regular customers—that is how much they gave to this appeal. A local butcher gave as many snags as they were asked to give, without question. That typifies the great heart of the volunteers in Fadden and especially in Coombabah. I think I speak for all parliamentarians in saying that it typifies the great spirit of volunteers within their communities.

That is why there is merit in a debate on tax deductibility for expenses incurred by volunteers. You may be surprised to know, Mr Deputy Speaker, that there is no legal definition of a volunteer for tax purposes, yet Volunteering Australia defines formal volunteering as:

… an activity which takes place through not for profit organisations or projects and is undertaken:

• to be of benefit to the community and the volunteer;
• of the volunteer's own free will and without coercion;
• for no financial payment; and
• in designated volunteer positions only.

There are no provisions for this activity to claim expenses. The ATO is explicit in its advice in this respect:

Voluntary work is usually unpaid and, if an individual receives a payment in their capacity as a volunteer, it is generally not assessable income. Most expenses incurred in undertaking voluntary work are—

therefore—

not tax deductible.

If you look across what the rest of the world is doing, you get an insight into what is possible. In the US, volunteers can receive tax deductions from the federal government on many costs associated with volunteering, such as mileage and other travel expenses, paper, copying, convention attendance fees, parking, and uniforms if the volunteer purchases his or her own uniform. These deductions apply only if you are not reimbursed for these expenses by the organisation you are assisting and they are itemised on the tax form that you put in. This is something this country should have a debate on. Volunteers are the backbone of our great nation. If we take away volunteers and the not-for-profit organisations that volunteers work in and support, I think it is not stretching the imagination to say that our nation would collapse.

Government is not intended, nor is it able, to provide all the services. Indeed, government should not. I believe in small government—in government providing a hand up, not a handout. I believe in communities and individuals working within their communities. I believe that communities are able to solve problems far better than government, notwithstanding a government’s ability to be involved in major capacities. The heart and soul of our lives and what makes them better is the communities and the individuals we interact with on a daily basis—not government. There is room to examine this issue of volunteering and tax deductibility, and I commend this course to the House.

See this speech in context