Page 1338 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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Consistent with community expectations about transparency, the Justice and Community Safety Directorate will include information in its annual report about the allocation of moneys from the diversification and sustainability support fund. Information will be included about payments into and out of the fund during the year, the names of each person who made the payment to or received a payment from the fund, and the purposes for which the payments were made out of the fund.
During Mr Stevens’s extensive consultation with licensed clubs, he reported that many clubs recognise and accept the need to diversify away from gaming machine revenue. The diversification and sustainability support fund is intended to assist clubs to take a strategic approach to their long-term future and increase their capacity to investigate and secure future revenue for longer term sustainability. The diversification of revenue streams will contribute toward clubs’ sustainability and their ability to contribute and continue making a valuable contribution to the social, sporting and cultural life of Canberra in the long term.
Some clubs already have a diverse range of revenue streams, and their long-term viability is informed by well-constructed strategies and dedicated workers. Others may need extra support for the small pools of members who volunteer their time serving on club boards. The effectiveness of any strategy will depend on the quality of management to implement that strategy and the ability of the club and its workers to deliver.
For this reason, the diversification and sustainability support fund can be used to provide funding for training for club board members and workers. New training that will be supported by this fund includes training in management and finance, together with training on harm minimisation and the role of boards in overseeing provision for responsible gambling services. This initiative will help lift capacity across the sector as a whole. Training to upskill board members has been in place for some years in New South Wales, recognising the diverse range of skills and capacity found across that state’s clubs. The ACT’s program will broadly support clubs to better serve this community.
Lastly, the bill includes a number of minor amendments to provide clarification to provisions in the Gaming Legislation Amendment Act 2018 that are due to commence on 1 July this year that relate to the community contributions scheme. The government is seeking to incentivise long-term in-kind arrangements by allowing these arrangements to reduce the mandatory six per cent monetary contributions for large clubs and club groups. This would only apply to long-term contributions. The bill makes provisions for a regulation to be made which sets out the criteria that must be met in order for clubs to rely on this mechanism. Today I will also table an exposure draft of that regulation and continue to work with the clubs to implement these reforms. The purpose is to engage clubs to provide certainty and lasting support to their communities through the community contributions scheme.
The bill represents another achievement in the government’s comprehensive efforts to promote a diverse, sustainable and community-focused clubs sector. We can introduce stronger harm minimisation and develop an even stronger clubs sector at the same time. We will continue to work with clubs and the broader community to ensure that
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