The Government announced on Fri 6.7.2012, that it had referred the draft Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) legislation to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, for an inquiry over the Winter Parliamentary break (Parliament resumes on 14 August 2012).
The Government will then consider any recommendations the Committee makes, before introducing the legislation later in the year, ahead of the ACNC’s 1 October 2012 start date.
The Assistant Treasurer also outlined the key changes to the Bills following the consultation that took place in December 2011 and May 2012. The changes cover, for example, registration and deregistration, governance standards, information gathering powers, enforcement powers, and penalties.
Initially, only charities (including PBIs) will be regulated by the ACNC. However, the legislation establishes a regulatory framework that can be extended to all NFP entities in the future. The financial reporting framework and governance standards, including the external conduct standards, will commence on 1 July 2013.
Source: Assistant Treasurer’s press release No 065, 6 July 2012
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