In the dynamic realm of Australia's Not-For-Profit landscape, the strength and stamina of organisations greatly depend on the ability of their board members. As custodians of the organisation's vision and assets, board members apply significant influence in charting the course towards its objectives.

When people donate to charities, they want to know their money will be used effectively and will have a positive impact on the cause they want to support. We are busting some of the most common 'charity money myths' that contribute to the idea that "each dollar you give should be used well" rather than on important administrative costs.

For many not-for-profit organisations, maintaining the best financial practices while also achieving their core mission can be difficult. Some fail to strike a balance due to a lack of in-house expertise, and others struggle with the complicated rules.

A major independent new report co-published by Justice Connect’s #FixFundraising coalition and the Charities Crisis Cabinet reveals that over 600 charities and community organisations surveyed are drowning in red tape because of outdated fundraising laws.

During the pandemic, one sector that has suffered dramatically has been not-for-profit. Those organisations that relied on events or fundraising activities that simply do not work with social distancing have had to pivot and look at innovative ways to keep moving forward.

The focus of Part 1 of this guide is the statutory financial reporting and assurance obligations applicable to registered charities, as set out in the ACNC Act and the ACNC Consequential and Transitional Act and the accompanying financial reporting regulations.

There is a general consensus that, by the mid-2020’s, most of the business systems will be cloud-based. But will they be multi-tenanted or hosted?  In the early adoption of Cloud based systems, there were reasons to go cloud hosted - those reasons have been eroded over the past decade with true Cloud (multi-tenanted) rapidly overtaking Cloud hosted.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has revamped the searchability of its charity register, enhancing the way donors and volunteers can connect with their preferred organisation.

Today’s CFOs have diversified their responsibilities, embracing non-traditional skills, implementing emerging technologies and championing purpose-led initiatives.

You’ll have an extra step to take if you have new employees who start from 1 November 2021 and they don’t choose a super fund.  You may now need to request their ‘stapled super fund’ details from the ATO. 

The ATO has issued personalised refund of franking credits application packages to eligible organisations that applied for, and received, a refund in the previous financial year. Contact the ATO if your organisation wants to apply for a refund of franking credits but you haven’t received a refund package. You can also phone the ATO to request replacement forms.

As a finance futurist, Nunzio Giunta CPA has embraced technological changes in his industry, but he also looks forward to a new era for finance, in which emotional intelligence and sound communication are upheld as much as analytical expertise.

The Online Services for Business replaced the Business Portal and you can use it to create payment plans, lodge a BAS, obtain copies of income tax returns and view your communication history with the ATO.

Justice Connect launches a new free DGR tool to help you work out whether you’re eligible for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status and what the relevant DGR category might be. The legal requirements are complex, the tax laws are complicated, and the language is old-fashioned and daunting. This new tool takes less than 20 minutes to complete and will help you make sense of the law.

The Hon Michael Sukkar MP, announced that the Coalition Government will cut red tape for thousands of Australian charities, with financial reporting obligations to be eased from the upcoming financial year.

The director identification number (director ID) initiative will be introduced as a part of a new modern registry service – the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS). Directors don’t need to do anything now. The ATO is testing the new application process in a private beta to ensure a seamless user experience, and will call for expressions of interest shortly.

In June 2020, the ancillary fund guidelines were amended to encourage increased distributions to DGRs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2021-22 Budget the Government announced changes to the administration of NFPs that self-assess as income tax exempt. From 1 July 2023, NFPs with an active ABN will submit an online annual self-review form with the information they ordinarily use to self-assess their eligibility for the exemption. The ATO will work closely with the sector in the implementation of this measure.

On 1 July 2021, the super guarantee rate will rise from 9.5% to 10%. Some pay periods will cross over between June and July when the rate changes.

In the 2019-2020 Budget it was announced that the data collected through Single Touch Payroll (STP) will be expanded. This expansion of STP data reduces the reporting burden for employers who need to report information about their employees to multiple government agencies and supports the administration of the social security system.