Page 3668 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 September 2018
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many organisations are used to working under the current act, so these provisions commence on 1 July 2019 to give plenty of time for organisations to adjust.
The amendments in this bill are focused on areas where changes are necessary to bring the act in line with contemporary practice, where the act is silent and therefore creates ambiguity, or where requirements can be simplified to benefit associations through reduced costs and administration.
A key change in the bill will be to remove references to “trade” in the definition of “financial gain”. This government’s approach to regulation is to ensure that it is proportionate to the size of the organisation and also to the level of risk. Through this bill we will bring the format for financial reporting more in line with national regulatory settings for charities and in line with this approach. The bill also streamlines how we define the size of an organisation for financial reporting and provides greater flexibility for medium-sized organisations in audit requirements, providing the opportunity to reduce costs and administration. The changes will make it easier for the organisations, for their members and for the community to understand the regulatory requirements supporting governance and good practice.
The ACT has made significant progress in streamlining regulation for charities in the territory and will continue to reduce red tape, including advocating for the Australian government to take a greater role in fundraising reform, as through our submissions to the current Senate select committee inquiry and to the review of the ACNC’s legislation which was conducted earlier this year.
Like many things, the nature of fundraising has changed significantly from when states and territories first introduced regulation last century. Fundraising is now a national issue, cutting across borders, using technology in ways that did not exist when the laws were introduced, and operating in an increasingly complex environment of employment and contracting practices.
There are other measures in the bill that are designed to update legislation across the statute book to reflect changes in technology and more contemporary practices for business and the community. In keeping with the intent of modernising, the bill will also deregulate car market operators in the ACT, as the current regulation is now superfluous. People’s approach to selling cars has moved on.
Amendments will also update legislation through the removal of the compulsory use of outdated communication methods across the statute book. The purpose of the amendments is to broaden the range of communication that is available, rather than restrict the nature of communication, and to better reflect modern communication requirements across the statute book.
The bill addresses outstanding legislative remnants from the 20th century, and I for one am willing to let faxes reside in the pages of history along with other things of the 1980s, like big hair, Duran Duran and MC Hammer pants.
The bill will also remove references to obsolete processes and procedures in the Land Titles Act 1925 that may restrict the effectiveness of new systems and potentially confuse customers. These obsolete provisions make reference to exempt requirements
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