Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Just listening to contributions of members opposite in relation to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill leads me to ask: what parallel universe do members opposite actually occupy here? The self-delusion that this bill is somehow in keeping with the key lines issued in today's briefings to members opposite where they are meant to sing the praises of their year of achievements is part of an utterly desperate attempt to override or reboot what has been nothing but a shocking year for this government.

However, tonight I do wish to join with my Labor colleagues on this side of the House in opposition to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill. The proposal to abolish the commission is ill-considered, unpopular and should be dumped. The commission was established by Labor, in 2012, following an extensive 15-year period of review and consultation. It was established for the right reasons and it had been doing exactly what it was set up to do, operating efficiently and effectively to assist charities, donors and taxpayers.

Quite simply, the government's plan to abolish the commission is an insult to the good work of the charitable sector and to all Australians who want accountability and transparency when it comes to their generous donations. The government, led by the Minister for Social Services, has pledged to scrap the commission on the grounds that requiring charities to report on their financial and corporate operations is somehow just simply red tape. The government plans to return responsibility for regulating charities to the Australian tax office, at the same time that it is sacking more than 4,700 staff from this agency, including many from my electorate of Newcastle.

The Australian not-for-profit sector generates income of approximately $100 billion a year and employs over 900,000 Australians. Before the establishment of the commission, there was no dedicated regulator for this significant segment of the Australian economy. There are no reasonable grounds to scrap the commission.

The Senate Economics Legislation Committee conducted an inquiry into the ACNC Repeal Bill in June 2014. Of the 155 charities and other organisations which made a submission to that inquiry, over 80 per cent supported retaining the charities commission.

True to form, however, this government rejects all the evidence before us and pursues its own narrow ideological agenda or that of the somewhat uncharitable IPA instead.

The commission is protecting Australians from charity scammers by requiring not-for-profits to report annually on their financial activities and creating a searchable register so that people can quickly check the bona fides of an organisation before donating money.

To date, the commission has registered 59,697 charities on the online register. It has also pursued legal action against four dodgy charities for ripping off donors and has revoked the charity status of over 700 more organisations for failing to report on their annual activity.

According to evidence given at estimates, in October 2014, the ACNC saves Australian charities $120 million a year by reducing compliance costs and red tape. An independent study by Ernst & Young confirmed that the ACNC significantly reduced the reporting burden for charities, leaving them more time to focus on helping Australian communities. The report noted:

A core component of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission's reporting framework and efforts around reducing red tape is the "report once, use often" principle. This principle is consistent with recommendations issued by the Productivity Commission, the National Commission of Audit, the Australian National Audit Office, the Treasury and the Department of Finance.

The 2014 Pro Bono Australia 'State of the Sector' survey found that 82 per cent of respondents believe the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is important, or extremely important, for the thriving not-for-profit sector. That is consistent with the 83 per cent of respondents who backed the commission in the 2013 survey.

Only six per cent of those surveyed agreed with Minister Kevin Andrews that the Australian tax office should resume responsibility for regulating charities. That is exactly the same figure contained in the 2013 Pro Bono survey. That is a massive 94 per cent endorsement of the current arrangements under the commission. Charities support the commission, the Australian public recognise the need for the commission and the governance role it plays is vital in regulating a very large sector within Australia.

Indeed, some of Australia's most well-established and respected charities felt so strongly about the issues that they took the very courageous step of publishing an open letter, urging the government to reconsider their push to abolish the commission before the Senate inquiry was launched. Charities such as Lifeline, ACOSS, Save the Children, the RSPCA, Youth Off the Streets, World Vision, St John Ambulance Australia, the McGrath Foundation and Wesley Mission Australia are among those who signed the letter and called on the government to keep the commission. In their letter to the Prime Minister, these charities argued their case succinctly. They said:

We want to make it very clear to the Commonwealth Government and wider community that like most charities across Australia, we value the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, and we want to see it continue its impressive work.

Moreover:

The ACNC has done what few new regulators achieve—gained widespread support across the sector it is regulating.

These are strong words that should be taken heed of. As mentioned, the majority of submissions to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee's inquiry into this bill supported the commission and its regulatory role. In their submission, the Law Council of Australia said:

… the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (‘ACNC’) is the body most appropriate to determine the charitable status of entities that are seeking tax concessions under the Federal tax legislation and to regulate them thereafter.

And further:

The Taxation Committee believes that it is not appropriate for that role to revert to the Commissioner of Taxation.

The St Vincent de Paul Society said:

The current bill seeks to repeal the ACNC ... The society opposes this move. The society, while believing that there is much to be gained from a constructive and critical engagement in ensuring that the ACNC fulfils its role, is opposed to this bill and is wary of what appears to be an ideological opposition to the very existence of the ACNC.

These are just two of the many, many comments supporting the role of the commission that were made before the Senate inquiry.

The charities and not-for-profit sector plays a vital role in our community, contributing both economically and socially. Importantly, the sector employs more than one million Australians, turns over around $100 billion per annum, involves almost five million volunteers    and nurtures and supports all of our communities—including my community of Newcastle. According to the commission's charity register, the Newcastle electorate is home to more than 450 registered charities—that is, 450 organisations, large and small, doing great things to support local communities in Newcastle. None is more important or less important than the others—from the Dixon Park Surf Life Saving Club, which supports our young nippers, to homelessness support organisations such as the Samaritans, to disability service providers such as Connectability or any one of my 65 local P&C groups. Charities support the whole of our community, not just the vulnerable. And charities need the support of a strong, dedicated regulator—a job the commission is doing aptly.

Another important role the commission plays is in helping to reduce and eliminate scammers. At a time when so many Australians are being exposed to any number of increasingly sophisticated scams, we need the commission to help protect both the registered charities and members of the public who donate their hard-earned money to worthy causes. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Little Black Book of Scams details the situation well. Scammers will try anything to get our money. Charity scams, in particular, are not uncommon. They misdirect money away from legitimate, registered charitable organisations and into the pockets of scammers. Common tactics include exploiting natural disasters and crises in the news to collect funds, masquerading as a charity worker or creating a fictitious charity to fool people into making donations. They are usually scams that play on emotions, looking to collect for a cause that will likely secure sympathy.

In the same way that ASIC provides investors with the confidence they need to buy shares in companies, the commission provides donors with the confidence that registered charities are actually performing genuinely charitable works. The Abbott Liberal government might want us to believe that the ACNC is yet another example of government over-reaching, of involving itself where it is not needed or wanted, and adding to the so-called burden of red tape. But it is worth asking: not wanted by whom? Fake charities? Money launderers? Tax evaders? Dodgy operators? Conmen? This government, the IPA and its financial backers may not want the commission but most Australian charities and not-for-profits do.

We might also ask: who in the charitable industry was consulted on these proposed changes? In response to a question on notice asking for details of who has been involved in consultations about what might replace the commission, the minister responsible listed 31 people representing 23 organisations. Curiously, some on the minister's list do not believe that they were in fact consulted. They have written to the shadow Assistant Treasurer noting their concern that the minister has sought to mislead the public about their involvement in consultations with his personal staff and the Department of Social Services. One correspondent wrote: 'It was in no way a consultation and I will write to the DSS and the Senate committee to have my name removed from the list as I was not consulted in any other forum or at any other time.'

This is a government hiding behind an illusion of consultation to ram home an ideological agenda. As the Community Council of Australia has warned, abolishing the commission would be a sign that the government is not interested in the views of the charity sector. It would harm charities, who will lose visibility and governance support. And it would be bad for the public, who will be more exposed to fraud and scams. It has been exactly one year since the Minister for Social Services stood up in this place and committed to sending the charities commission to the chopping block. Time has not improved this bill. Labor will stand against the government's attempts to scrap transparency and accountability in the not-for-profit sector and strongly oppose this bill. I call on the government to abandon their ludicrous plans to axe the commission and to instead better support Australian charities in the great work they are doing in our communities.

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