Question On Notice No. 2941 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 May 2020 by Hon Alison Xamon
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Premier
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the Senate Select Committee on
Charity Fundraising in the 21st Century Report and to the recommendation that
Australia develop a nationally consistent approach to fundraising, and I ask:
(a) does the McGowan Government
support this recommendation;
(b) if yes to (a), is any work
being undertaken to progress the recommendation;
(c) if yes to (b), please
provide information about that work, including any anticipated timeframes; and
(d) if no to (b), why not??
Answered on 16 June 2020
The report recommended that the Federal Government commit to working with state and territory governments and the not-for-profit sector to develop a consistent national model for regulating not-for-profit and charitable fundraising activities within a time limit of two years. The Federal Government is yet to contact the State Government in that regard. The McGowan Government has bee pro-active in this space and the following answers reflect the work currently being undertaken by the McGowan Government.
(a) The McGowan Government supports proposals for reforms to the regulation of charitable fundraising licensing to provide a nationally consistent model for regulation that decreases regulatory burden by reducing duplication, and overlap in regulatory requirements.
(b) On 30 July 2019, the Hon. John Quigley MLA, Minister for Commerce, approved a series of proposals by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety to reduce the regulatory burden for those charities holding a charitable collections licence within Western Australia and also registered by the Commonwealth regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). The reforms will eliminate the current requirement for charities registered with the ACNC to provide additional financial reports to Consumer Protection, reduce the obligations associated with applying for a WA licence and eliminate the need for licence renewal applications.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Consumer Protection, the agency responsible for licencing of charitable collections in Western Australian, is also currently participating in a cross jurisdictional Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) working group to develop a nationally consistent model for regulation for public consultation.
(c) Consumer Protection has been working with the ACNC to implement the administrative changes approved by Minister Quigley. Amendments required to support the changes were made to the Charitable Collections Act 1946 (WA) by the Consumer Protection Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (WA) which commenced on 1 January 2020. The administrative reforms to reduce regulatory burden for WA licence holders are expected to commence on 1 July 2020.
The Charitable Fundraising National Working Group was established in early 2019 and is expected to provide a discussion paper, including a proposed model for a nationally consistent licensing regime, for public consultation in the second half of 2020.
(d) Not applicable.