David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer ) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

The parliamentary amendments address additional issues that were raised by the Senate Community Affairs Committee in relation to its inquiries into the ACNC bills. These parliamentary amendments to the ACNC Bill will allow the ACNC Commissioner to decline to include or remove the details of warnings from the register, where the release of the information may cause detriment, where the entity has acted in good faith and where the matter has been resolved. The amendments also add clarification that the governance standards will be focused on outcomes and will specify principles as to how the registered entity must achieve those outcomes, including proportional standards that recognise the size and nature of the registered entity.

The amendments also provide clarification that consultation on the governance and external conduct standards should involve public consultation and emphasise the role of the ACNC Commissioner in facilitating such consultation. The amendments also provide mechanisms for additional parliamentary scrutiny in relation to the development of the governance and external conduct standards.

The amendments also add an objects clause to the reporting framework which sets out the intent and the purpose of the reporting framework—namely, to introduce a proportional framework that reduces unnecessary regulatory obligations, alleviates the need for information to be provided to multiple government agencies, and promotes transparency and accountability of registered entities.

The amendments also add a requirement that the commissioner include in the written notification to suspended or removed responsible entities an explanation of the strict liability offences which apply to entities that breach the prohibition on managing registered entities and the obligations in relation to providing books and property to new responsible entities. The amendments also provide for the maximum annual revenue for a deductible gift recipient fund, or DGR fund, operated by a basic religious charity to be increased from $250,000 in line with changes to the thresholds for small registered entities.

A number of additions have also been made to the explanatory memorandum to the ACNC bill to provide additional clarity to some of the terms used in the bill and expand on some other relevant matters, including clarification that the annual report of the ACNC Commissioner will include an assessment of how the commissioner has promoted the objects of the act, including the reduction of unnecessary regulatory obligations.

These amendments, we believe, add to the integrity of the framework that we are establishing for the new Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. This is a significant reform. This will introduce for the first time in our history a single national regulator that will oversee the charitable sector.

This is something that has been called for by so many in the charitable sector for so long. It has been through considerable scrutiny. There was an exposure draft and a subsequent exposure draft which had been considered by the House Economics Committee. A bill was introduced and was then considered by the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. It was then considered by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. Each stage of the consultative process has produced constructive suggestions as to how the framework could be improved. We have embraced those suggestions along the way and we are very pleased now to recommend that these further amendments be passed to bring this new regime into effect.

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