What are the current fundraising laws like?
Currently, fundraising laws in Australia are different for each jurisdiction, and there are a multitude of regulations that charities must be compliant with to ensure that they can fundraise accordingly. These compliance requirements cost charities an exorbitant amount of money that could otherwise be directed towards their charitable purposes; therefore, reform has been urgently needed to streamline the process for charitable fundraising.
What is the reform?
On 16 February 2023, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh announced a set of sixteen nationally uniform fundraising principles that will soon be implemented into regulation. Recently, representatives of each jurisdiction in Australia met to discuss the need to implement a national, uniform set of regulations to manage fundraising. A set of principles was agreed upon to coordinate conduct in relation to fundraising for charities, which will give charities and donors a clear understanding of appropriate conduct with fundraising, and allow for greater coherence and flexibility with compliance.
While still under development, this reform is a major venture and represents a huge success in how fundraising is coordinated. Australian charities will benefit greatly from a clearer, more simplified approach, as they will be able to focus much more on delivering their crucial services.
