1. Professor David Gilchrist
University of Western Australia
Value of the Community Sector to the NT Economy
2017 NTCOSS Conference
Darwin Convention Centre
25 September 2017

2. Some key points THANK YOU!! Data is from ACNC 2015 AIS Collection
Australian Bureau of Statistics
NTCOSS Survey
Predominantly charities only
Removed One Significant Outlier
Focus on Medians rather than Averages
THANK YOU!!

3. Territory’s NFP Sector – first baseline data
Number charities
450
1 per 32 For-profits
Net assets
$914m
NT govt $9.8bn
Total income
$952m
Mining $3.0bn
Number of employees
7,600 (8%)
Mining & Manufacturing 6,600 (7%)
Main source of income
Own source: 51% Governments: 49%
Total expenditure
$860m
Employee expenditure
$417m (48%)
Other NFPs
~500
Source: Gilchrist, D. J. and P. A. Knight, (2017), Value of the Not-for-profit Sector 2017: An Examination of the Economic Contribution of the Not-for-profit Human Services Sector in the Northern Territory. A Report for the Northern Territory Council of Social Service, Darwin, Australia.

4. Highly Diverse Services – The Top 10
Economic, social and community development
Religious activities
Culture and arts
Other education
Primary and secondary education
Social services
Other health service delivery
Sports
Law and legal
Environmental
50%
Charities are one kind of NFP
St John Ambulance
CatholicCare NT
Lifeline Central Australia

5. Charities by Activity Type

6. Income by Activity Type

7. Income Sources
Charities generate more than half of their own income

8. NFPs must make a profit 49% made a profit 28% broke even
Median profit percentage by activity type
49% made a profit
28% broke even
23% made a loss
25% made a profit of less than 2%
Health CPI
for 30 June 2015 – 4.3%

9. NT’s Charities – a billion dollar asset
Built by generations of Northern Territorians for Northern Territorians
Essential resource for communities
Cost efficient and effective service delivery
NFPs provide over a dollar for every dollar of government funding
Vulnerable in current policy and economic environment

10. National Scale & Economic Impact
Mining
$217Bn
Charities
$100Bn
Agriculture
$75Bn
Car
Industry
$5Bn
919,000
Employees
190,000
Employees
500,000
Employees
50,000
Employees
Add or remove detail to show size based on numbers of people engaged and economic considerations
National, State, Regional comparisons?

11. What we have forgotten…
What we have forgotten…
The reality of public sector service provision – merit goods versus private goods
The non-optional nature of service requirements
The positive externalities that arise from holistic service provision versus transactional service provision

12. Changing the Conversation:
Changing the Conversation:
Discussion – focus on value for money and fiscal policy rather than simply expenses
Discussion – focus on investment already made and restructuring not on reduction and replacement
Discussion – focus on fit-for-purpose rather than sector of origin
Lack of data supporting national conversation
Lack of consistency in our economic approach to this sector compared to others…

13. INDUSTRY PLAN NFP Sector Responsibilities
Set high expectations for performance and outputs
For some, this should be world class services
Build strong strategic planning, financial management and costing skills
Maximise ‘return for beneficiaries’ – today’s and tomorrow’s
Lead the development of a strong sector-wide brand
COLLABORATION
INDUSTRY PLAN

14. Contacts Penny Knight Professor David Gilchrist
For Report Copies or Queries and Comments
Professor David Gilchrist
School of Accounting and Finance University of Western Australia E:
Penny Knight E: