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Government, make things easy for non-profits? Ha!

Kevin Andrews

by Kevin Andrews

27 Sep 05:45am

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Filed under: Charities, Federal Government, Labor Party

27 comments

Civil society comprises the groups of individuals which freely associate to pursue their mutual social, cultural, professional, sporting, religious or other communal interests.

Don't you dare do things simply! Picture: Ross Schultz

They are the local carer’s groups. They are the sporting clubs, the congregations, the communities that fund and build schools, the welfare agencies, the bands of people who work together to support medical research, or assist the poor and afflicted, both here and overseas. They are the myriad of large and small associations that provide the organic vitality of our nation.

They have one thing in common. They are neither created nor controlled by the state. Instead, they arise from the desire to associate to fulfil common objectives. They are built on mutuality and trust.

Starting with the family and extending to the many, varied groups of people, they preceded the state.

It is the Coalition’s strong belief that the political community - the state, the government and its bureaucratic agencies - should be at the service of civil society.

Where the state interacts with civil society, it should be to facilitate it. A good example was the introduction of associations’ incorporation legislation.

This legislation enabled associations to better fulfil their mission. It allowed them to attain the benefits of incorporation, to ease contractual arrangements, to obtain insurance, and to protect individuals. It was ‘light touch’ enabling legislation, seeking not so much to regulate, as to empower and enable.

It recognized that the sphere of government is separate from civil society. It acknowledged that the all-powerful state ultimately becomes Caesarean. It respected the principle of subsidiarity - that government should remain limited, and that a responsibility of the elected arm of government is to ensure that the bureaucratic wing should regulate only where, and to the extent, necessary.

It was also built on the premise of trust - that individuals and the organizations they established were motivated by the common good of their members. This is the common story of associating for the welfare of the individual’s concerned, and their neighbours, whether in local communities or further away.

This understanding is now under assault. Under the pretext of simplifying and easing the regulatory burden on associations, the federal government proposes a new regulatory body, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission. But what was promised and what has emerged from the bureaucracy are poles apart.

A primary objective of Labor’s reform was that it should reduce administrative compliance and duplication of reporting by agencies, enabling them to direct more of their limited resources to their charitable and related activities.

Yet the Bill, developed in a secretive process, with a minimum of time for general comments, fails to meet this objective. The Bill fails to provide any basis for the reporting requirements of companies limited by guarantee to be transferred to the ACNC; for relevant parts of the Not-for-Profit reporting requirements of Commonwealth agencies to be transferred to the ACNC; of for any clear commitment to obtaining the agreement for the rationalisation of government reporting requirements between the ACNC and the relevant State and Territory authorities.

Let me take one example, namely, the case of non-government schools. In addition to the proposed ACNC reporting and accountability requirements, schools will continue to be subject to all the current State and Commonwealth reporting requirements, after a three year exemption for the latter.

This example of just one realm of activity that would be captured by the ACNC legislation illustrates the flaws in the proposal. What had been promised as simplification turns out to be costly and burdensome additional reporting requirements, with no reduction of red tape and no reduction of duplication.

The government concedes that the premises upon which this legislation is being brought forward will not be met.

In addition, the new system, far from saving associations the financial resources that could be best directed to their community activities, will cost them more. The experience of the UK was that many associations have had to employ additional employees with regulatory, legal and financial expertise, to meet the new requirements.

The same would happen here. The Baptist Church alone has estimated that it will have to spend an additional $1 million per annum of scare resources to meet the new requirements. Multiply this sum through the many associations upon which this regulator system is to be foisted, and the cost will be enormous.

David Gonski warned: “We might be the first country in the world to make being on a not-for-profit as a director more onerous than being on a for-profit.”

When groups ranging from the Conservation Foundation to schools, charitable service agencies, and sporting groups like the Surf Lifesavers all complain that this Bill is unwanted and unnecessary, the government should take notice. It has failed to identify the mischief the bill is intended to address.

Kevin Andrews is the Opposition spokesman for Families, Housing and Human Services.

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27 comments

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    • gobsmack says:

      07:19am | 27/09/12

      ‘Light touch’ legislation, my arse.

      Has Mr Andrews actually read any contemporary versions of legislation (State legislation) regulating incorporated associations?

      Victoria’s legislation, for example, applies many provisions of the Commonwealth Corporations Act in areas such as the duty of officer holders.  Hefty penalties apply for a breach of that duty.  Understandably, a lot of people would think twice before volunteering to be on the committee of an association.  You would need to be an expert on company law to fully understand the obligations.

      The legislation dictates the requirements relating to the keeping and auditing of financial records and requires annual reporting to the State authority charged with regulating associations.

      Over the last 20 years associations have been killed off by a combination of the high costs of insurance (the sausage sizzle is fraught with potential for litigation), the ever increasing red tape from State authorities and the boom in home entertainment.

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      07:22am | 27/09/12

      “The Baptist Church alone has estimated that it will have to spend an additional $1 million per annum of scare resources ...”

      Irony, thy name is Kevin.

      Seriously though:

      “The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy”.

      Kevin, I like your argument, but it’s flawed in one way: you’re a politician too.

      The right like to talk about reducing government “interference” in our lives.  I think that’s a noble motto.  What then are you doing in government? 

      You are free to associate, same as we are.  Why be part of the problem you say you’re trying to solve?

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      08:40am | 27/09/12

      The Baptist Church needs those scare resources! How else will they get members without the threat of eternal damnation?

    • chuck says:

      07:26am | 27/09/12

      Oh God not another commission. Is this going to be filled with ex politicians and their lawyer mates or unemployed principals from private schools I wonder?
      Is all this yet another shallow attempt to not deal with dodgy charities (read religious schools in NSW) that have been sucking at the community teat without fear or without accountability?
      What has happened to the checks and balances already in place not to mention the legion of Public servants being paid to do the work?

      Reply

    • Christian Real says:

      07:48am | 27/09/12

      Kevin Andrews, perhaps you should be attacking your Liberal mate Campbell Newman about the funding and the grants that he and his LNP State Government have withdrawn in their slash and burn across the State of Queensland.

      Reply

    • PeterH says:

      08:13am | 27/09/12

      Christian Real, It may be a strange concept to socialists like you but we all have to live within our means. The previous Labor Government ran the economy into the ground and what you are seeing in QLD now is the consequence of that reckless spending.

      Wait until the coalition wins the next Federal election and has to make cuts to pay back the Rudd/Gillard $250B national debt.

    • Alfie says:

      08:26am | 27/09/12

      Slashing and burning is exactly what they need.

    • dovif says:

      08:34am | 27/09/12

      Again, the left resorts to using strawmen in any argument. Instead of attacking the point the author made, they instead points to a strawmen to “try” to defeat the argument.

      Because of the massive deficit left by the incompetant Qld ALP government, Newman has to cut spending. The running of massive deficit like the Qld ALP, federal ALP and NSW ALP are doing, if left unchecks will end up making us like the Greeks, Spanish or Irish. Grovernment cannot keep running massive deficits, because the borrowers charges interests, which has to come out of the budget. We should actually all applaud the likes of Newman, who will ensure Qld does not follow the path of the likes of America. Greece. Spain and Ireland etc

    • Borderer says:

      08:50am | 27/09/12

      Christian Real
      I agree with PeterH, only an utter imbecile would think that Newman is cutting funding to programs and civil service jobs because he thinks it’s fun. 65bil debt through a mining boom and they aren’t even the largest state or have the biggest population, they were borrowing money to run the state, not invest, run, try running your household like that.

    • Carol says:

      09:15am | 27/09/12

      PeterH,

      While I don’t disagree with you concept, tell us in your view what % of Australians “live within our means”?
      I thought we had the largest credit card debt in the world!

      Government don’t spend the money on themselves, rightly or wrongly it’s spent on the nation. We might disagree with how it is spent, but then there are others who do agree. I don’t agree with tax cuts, I’d rather the money was spent on infrastructure, but I accept most people like tax cuts.

    • TheRealDave says:

      10:34am | 27/09/12

      Two things PeterH spring to my mind

      1) This is Australia - so flinging the word ‘Socialist’ around doesn’t have the same cache as a Fox News anchor screaming it to his audience of rednecks and ultra conservative swill or any other derogatory word you were going for.

      2) I work on the preiphery of the Non-Profit Industry in that I support them IT wise - and I am seeing daily the cost of LNP policies here in Queensland with Community Programs being closed down every day and actual ‘coalface’ community workers not havign jobs. This is not ‘Lazy’ Public Servants here - this is the actual community workers who are going into teh houses of battered wives, abused children, helping the disabled and mentally ill. These are the hidden and unrecorded ‘numbers’ you are cheering for. These are the ‘real people’ that are affected by these cuts.

      The ex-Public Servants will get other good paying office jobs in the private sector. But who is going to be out in your suburbs every single day dealing with the abused kids, battered wives, the handicapped, the mentally ill etc?

      Who cares huh?? These people live in the lower class, lower socio-economic areas right Pete? They’re not likely to be lined up beside you when geting a boutique rare bat crap coffee are they?

      As long as its not in your backyard Pete?? Slash and Burn right Alfie? Reckless spending right?

    • Christian Real says:

      11:05am | 27/09/12

      Peter H
      You and other Liberal sympathisers neglect to remember that Queenland suffered several natural disasterous floods and cyclones that damaged and destroyed infrastructure across the State.
      Repairs to Roads, Highways, telecommunications all costs money,or would you and other Liberals supporters preferred that the former State Government didn’t bother to repair or replace any of these things.
      Newman says the State is broke and continuely blames the previous government for his failings as Leader,but he is sacking public servants with one and and hiring his liberal mates and liberal MPs family members with the other hand.
      Also Newman can find the money to give a $200,000 allocation grant to ‘Big Brother’’  productions on the gold coast, and $110,000 to the Gold Coast Turf Club,he can find money for both of these things even though he claims the State is broke.
      “Big Brother ” and “The Gold Coast Turf Club” are obviously more important to fund than an NDIS.
      Up to five MPs in Newman’s LNP government have also been caught out misreprenting the debt by $35 billion.
      “Several Queensland MPs have been forced to apologise after being accused of misrepresenting Parliament over the State’s debt level.”
      Extracts from News.Com,this story “LNP misleading Qld on Debt: opposition.”
      From AAP, August 21,2012 @ 5.25PM
      “Energy and Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle,Sports Minister steve Dickson and Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens apologised to parliament on Tuesday for incorrectly representing the State’s debt level to parliament.”
      “Last parliament sitting,Agriculture Minister John McVeigh and Morayfield MP Darren Grimwade were also forced to apolo0gise for exaggerating it in parliament.”
      “All MPs said Queensland had $100 billion worth of debt,$35 billion more than it actually is.”
      Peter H,  The economy can’t be too bad under the ALP Federal Government, they still have a triple A rating long term and a A-1 + short term.
      Queensland did have a double A +, but lost the + only two days after the LNP brought down it’s first budget,says a lot about the LNP being fiscal and money managers.
      From ‘The Australian this story:
      “Standard & Poor’s reaffirms AAA rating for Australian Government.” - Geoffrey Rogow Dow Jones newswires September 23,2012 @ 2.31PM\
      “Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed the Australian federal government’s AAA rating today,but cut its outlook on South Australia, extending a recent move by fixed-income investors towards greater differentiation between Australia and some of its states.”
      “Following an annual review released today S & P affirmed its AAA long term and A - 1 + short term sovereign credit ratings on Australia,and maintained a stable outlook.”
      “The ratings agency said it was concerned about Australia’s high debt burden,but ample fiscal and monetary policy flexibility,economic resilience,public policy stability and a sound financial sector were behind its decision.”
      .By the way, I am not a socialist as you have called me, but a real Australian of Aboriginal origin.

    • compassionate conservative says:

      11:08am | 27/09/12

      therealdave
      alfie thinks all public sector workers are parasites.

      Alfie says:
      Newman is not wasting his mandate. The parasites in the public sector are now getting what they deserve.

      I think the word alfie should be put in the dictionary and defined as a term used to define people lacking compassion, humanity and only concerned with their shallow little lives. Alfie’s are typically conservative and more than just a little red on the back of the neck.

    • dovif says:

      11:18am | 27/09/12

      The Real Dave

      Then you are blaming it on the wrong people, the reason the Liberal has to cut back on services, is because the mismanagement of the budget by the ALP.

      Everyone likes to give the good news, just the Gillard wants to give the good news on Education, the disability, the environment, quicker internet download etc, but we have to pay for it somehow. A $100billion debt cost australians $5 billions to finance each year (WITHOUT ANY REPAYMENY). That means $5 billion less a future government can spend on education, disability and the environment,

      The ALP are great at giving people the good news, but always leave disasters for the Liberals to fix. For example In NSW, Iemma and Costa actually wanted to cut the public service, but since the public service union donates to NSW ALP, the ALP did not allow him to cut public service, and they removed him 2 months later.

      The excessive spending of the ALP will cost future Australians. The reasons for the Liberals cutts, is the mismangement of the ALP budget, it is because the ALP want to give everyone the good news, but will eventually leave everyone worse off

    • Alfie says:

      11:21am | 27/09/12

      Gillard and Crean have just cut funding grants worth $1.35 billion from the Australia Regional Development Australia Fund.

      I don’t hear you Labor drones bleating about that.

    • Borderer says:

      12:26pm | 27/09/12

      Christian Real
      The ALP spent 600k on a pile of rocks in a moderately remote national park., created a state department for climate change that mirrored the federal department, costing millions so the Premier’s husband could head it up on a six figure salary. Given the debt level they would reasonably have borrowed the money to do this….but I digress.

      Queenland suffered several natural disasterous floods and cyclones that damaged and destroyed infrastructure across the State.

      Yeah, this happens, that is why they have ‘contigency funds’ as part of the budget, federal labor drained it and now we have a disaster levy as part of our income tax, so sorry but this is a federal cost, not state. If it were a state cost then why is the federal government taxing us when they don’t fund it?

      but he is sacking public servants with one and and hiring his liberal mates and liberal MPs family members with the other hand.

      Yeah, a minister has done this as opposed to say 15,000 of them, I would also expect her to be dealt with publicly.

      While I do not like the idea of reducing community support programs I can not condone running the budget ridiculously into the red. We could hope that the federal government would offer assistance but they have levied a carbon tax, a flood levy and a mining tax and are still borrowing while announcing policy plans with no money to fund them. It’s time to put the big boy pants on and settle the bill. Just stop trying to shoot the messenger, the cause of all this resigned her seat to maximise her parlimentary pension and skipped accross the border.

    • Christian Real says:

      01:16pm | 27/09/12

      Dovif
      Like the LNP you support you have got your facts and figures wrong,because the debt is not $100 billion as you falsely claim, as you echo your Liberal party’s deceit.
      That is why Dovif, that Mark McArdle,Steve Dickson,Ray Stevens,John McVeigh and Darren Grimwade apologised to Queensland State Parliament for incorrectly representing the State’s debt to Parliament.
      In other words,these five LNP members of Campbell Newman’s government, mislead the parliament by claiming that the States Debt was $100 billion when it was not true.
      Here is an extract from this story : “LNP misleading Qld on Debt:opposition”, News.com.au on August 21,2012 @ 5.22PM
      “The state is currently in $65 billion worth of debt and the Commission of Audit into the state’s finances says that would only increase to $100 billion by 2018/19 if the government doesn’t take drastic action to rein in spending and increase revenue.”
      Dovif, the State can’t be too badly off,because Newman is looking after his Liberal mates and his MPs family members by giving them jobs,while he is sacking Public servants.

    • dovif says:

      02:11pm | 27/09/12

      Christian Real

      You seem to be the expert in strawmans please advise where I said Queensland debt was $100 billion. What I said was the following

      “A $100billion debt cost australians $5 billions to finance each year (WITHOUT ANY REPAYMENY). That means $5 billion less a future government can spend on education, disability and the environment,”

      You constructed a strawman by saying that “like the LNP you support you have got your facts and figures wrong,because the debt is not $100 billion as you falsely claim, as you echo your Liberal party’s deceit.”

      Which I did not say, you seem to be like the typical ALP supporter who fudges figures and lies at every opportunity that you get, the ALP parliamentary team is full of people like Neal, Thompson, Gillard, MacDonald etc and is a blight on our society

    • Nathan says:

      02:26pm | 27/09/12

      Ha ha ha, PeterH, gold. Having read through the comments on this post, I am reminded of the warning against arguing with idiots - they invariably find a way to bring you down to their level.

      I would have thought it would be pretty hard to argue against the need for spending cuts, given that QLD has $65 billion in debt, yet people here have gamely made the attempt anyway.

    • Tubesteak says:

      08:03am | 27/09/12

      What is this thing called “non-profit”?

      It sounds communistical!

      This is an outrage!

      Reply

    • subotic the placard kid says:

      12:20pm | 27/09/12

      Behead all those that insult the profit.

      Wait… what?

    • Tubesteak says:

      01:03pm | 27/09/12

      subotic
      I said that last week on facebook. Are you stalking me?

    • nihonin says:

      01:08pm | 27/09/12

      subotic the placard kid, that is soooooooo yesterday that comment.

    • subotic. Proudly anti-social since 1969 says:

      01:23pm | 27/09/12

      Hey kids, I’ll get at least another week’s worth of trolling off that kid!

      Michael Jackson. George Bush. Sarah Palin. Islamic placard kid.

      Legends, the lot of them….

      @Tubesteak, what’s a facebook?

    • Gerard says:

      08:11am | 27/09/12

      Typically Labor. Promise the world to the sector, then impose a great big new bureaucracy!

      Reply

    • A Dose of reality says:

      10:20am | 27/09/12

      Hilarious how he pushes sporting groups into this category ‘under attack’!  Hilarious!  Is there any discussion that he can’t ‘infuse’ a scare campaign into?

      There’s nothing wrong with stopping businesses from writing off their tax bill by pointing to a section of their operations that are ‘charity’.

      If BHP started up a soup-kitchen for the homeless, does that mean they are a ‘not-for-profit’?  The idea is ludicrous, however it differs very little from what currently happens.

      Take the Salvation Army (only because it features in the photo).  While Australians have a well-earned respect for this organisation, stemming from the very real support given to our fighting men in a number of wars - and their continued work in the disadvantaged sections of our community, it is involved in a number of businesses (to name one - the ‘job-finding’ market) in which it competes with other businesses

      It uses voluntary labour to cut costs - so it makes a greater profit from each payment.
      It doesn’t pay tax - increasing the profit margin.
      Consequently, it dominates this industry.

      Do all of the monies raised go directly to the poor?  Does some of it get siphoned off to run the internal workings of the ‘church’ (the Salvation Army is a registered ‘religion’, which is the basis for it’s tax-exempt status).

      To address a claim made in the article directly, I find it humorous to think of the baptist church as having ‘scarce resources’!  He’ll be saying that the catholics are pushed for assets next!

      The fact remains that if ‘charity’ was tax exempt but other business operations are not, the added revenue from the ‘churches’ would not only leave Australia with a budget surplus but could wipe out governmental debt.

      would that lead to tax cuts for the rest of us?  Could infrastructure be upgraded for the public good? (do you reckon a few roads could be fixed - reducing the road toll - instead of roads demanding a ‘toll’ so the public can make a few businessmen rich? - and do any of these businessmen have ‘lobbyists’ within the liberal party, as others do?)

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      01:33pm | 27/09/12

      Which government threatened to withdraw charitable status from groups who engaged in campaigns against government policies?

      Reply
 
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