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MR3108
5 December 2008
Law Council Welcomes Recommendations on
Charities and Not-For-Profit Organisations
The Law Council has urged the Federal Government to implement reforms
recommended in a Senate Committee report released yesterday on the regulation
of charities and not-for-profit organisations.
In its submission earlier this year to the Senate Standing Committee on
Economics’ Inquiry into Disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations, the
Law Council highlighted the economic and social importance of the not-for-profit
sector and called for a number of key legislative changes.
The Law Council submission noted that the current regulation of not-for-profit
organisations in Australia was fragmented and inefficient, imposing an unnecessary
burden on the entire sector.
Law Council President-elect John Corcoran said, “The Law Council is delighted
that the Senate Inquiry has unanimously recommended three of our key proposals:
a single national Associations Act, a single national Fundraising Act and a specialist
not-for-profit regulatory body.”
Mr Corcoran said the not-for-profit (NFP) sector played a vital role in the
Australian community.
According to figures released in 2008 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, during
the 2006–07 financial year, not-for-profit NFP organisations received income of
more than $74.5 billion and incurred at least $68.3 billion in expenses. This is
equivalent to about 7.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP.
Those organisations employed nearly one million people and had close to two-and-
a-half million volunteers, making the NFP sector of similar economic importance
to the mining industry or the entire economy of South Australia.
“We urge the Commonwealth Government to implement the reforms
recommended in the report as soon as possible. In our view, those reforms are
long overdue, if the not-for-profit sector in Australia is to make a full contribution
to society,” Mr Corcroan concluded.
Media Contact:
Elenore Eriksson, Director Public Affairs
P. 02 6246 3716 // M. 0419 269 855
The Law Council of Australia exists to represent the legal profession at the
national level, to speak on behalf of its constituent bodies on national issues, and
to promote the administration of justice, access to justice and general improvement
of the law.
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