Submission to the House Standing Committee on Economics - the ACNC Bills
Introduction
This submission briefly outlines the CCA response to the Exposure Draft Bills establishing the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC). This submission does not attempt to address every aspect of the proposed ACNC Bills but seeks to place the Bills within a broader context and address key issues from both the Bills and the Explanatory Materials.
This submission has been prepared through a process of consultation with the membership of the CCA (see Appendix 1 list of CCA members) and key organisations in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. It is important to note this submission does not over-ride any positions outlined in individual submissions from CCA members.
CCA strongly supports the ACNC Bills on the basis that they provide for the establishment of an independent and responsive regulator for the charities and not-for-profit sector.
As noted in a previous CCA submission responding to the ACNC scoping study, CCA recognises that establishing a new regulator requiring new Federal structures is not something that can happen overnight. The real benefits will probably not be realised within the next few years, but will take at least three years to begin to flow. CCA believes that there are tremendous gains for governments, NFPs and the community if regulatory requirements can be applied more effectively; if the Australian Taxation Office ceases to be the default NFP regulator; and the current onerous and inconsistent requirements can be reduced.
This submission addresses the following four key areas:
- The current situation
- The benefits of a responsive ACNC
- Key focus of the ACNC Exposure Draft Bills
- Future development of the ACNC
CCA welcomes this opportunity to consolidate previous advice and submissions, and to provide input into this inquiry. CCA would welcome the opportunity to engage in further discussion about any of the points raised in this submission.
CCA's full submission is attached.
