1. ACNC Strategy A more visible charity market
Gary Johns ACNC Commissioner
Collins & Co 2019 NFP Conference
14 March 2019
KW intro
DR intro

2. Charity registrations grow by 3.9% per annum*
DGR
*The calculation of an annual rate of change assumes:
1. same number of annual registrations post DGR as occurred in the preceding years,
2. that revocations remain low as for , and
3. discount the one-off DGR cohort

3. New website to improve public engagement*
* Section 1.56 ACNC Bill 2012 (Explanatory Memorandum)

4. Future direction
The Act directs the Commissioner to have regard to… ‘the need for transparency and accountability of the…sector to the public (including donors, members and volunteers…) by ensuring the public has access to information”
* Section 1.89 ACNC Bill 2012 Explanatory Memorandum.

5. Provide useful information
Visibility – provide a common language for charities and donors
Bring 2nd Object to life – publish sector-wide annual statistics

7. 1. Visibility
The Holy Grail of useful information is a common language based on programs, which charities, donors and beneficiaries may find useful in their decisions
* Section15-10 ACNC Act 2012.

8. Donors ask, ‘what do charities do?’
Search the register to find…
What
Who
Where
Cannot find this on the register…
Only if these are input by charities can they produce the output sought by donors…

9. Ais – new answers to old questions

10. Program marketplace
Map programs using a taxonomy of charitable causes, developed by Our Community,* to drive a search function on the Register
An option for charities to answer the AIS ‘activities’, ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘where’ questions and improve their visibility
Questions 9, 11 and 12 answered for each program
*CLASSIE system that was developed by Our Community.

11. Further refine programs…
Type of charity work
Finance/resourcing of other charities
Provision of buildings/facilities
Providing services
Advocacy/awareness
Representing other charities
Providing information to the public
Conducting research

12. 2. Bring 2nd object to life
(1)(b) to support and sustain a robust, vibrant, independent and innovative Australian not-for-profit sector*
The concepts, robust, vibrant, independent and innovative, are not defined in the Act, the Explanatory Memorandum, or the Second Reading Speech
To support and sustain these elements, it is essential to understand how they can be measures and the results reported
What statistical series could the ACNC publish to bring these concepts to life?
*Section 15-5 ACNC Act 2012
The Minister’s Second Reading Speech, 23 August 2012, contained the phrase; ‘The government is dedicated to supporting a strong, vibrant, diverse and independent NFP sector’, and also repeats the words in Object 2.

13. Measures for 2nd object…annual series part 1
Specification
Previously published?
Vibrant
Revenue
Percentage growth in each relevant revenue element (collected in AIS) by subtypes and size
Australian Charities Report 2016
(not subtypes or size)
Net income ratio 1
Australian Charities Report 2016)
Asset ratio 2
Current ratio 3
Registrations
Compare number of new registrations for financial year by subtypes and size 4
Growth and Change in Australia’s Charities 2014 to 2016
(not by subtypes)
1 Did charities make a surplus or deficit?
2 Are charities’ assets worth significantly more or less than their liabilities?
3 An indicator of short-term financial capacity.
4 Look at charities a year after registration to analyse size.

14. Measures for 2nd object…annual series part 2
Specification
Previously published?
Robust
Revocations
Number of revocations each year by subtype and size
Or number of revocations divided by number of registered charities
Annual Report
(not by subtype or size)
Longevity
Age of registered and revoked charities by subtype and size5 No
Assets
Total asset holdings by subtypes and size
Australian Charities Report 2016
Return on assets
5 Snapshots if age of revoked charities is too narrow a group.

15. Measures for 2nd object…annual series part 3
Specification
Previously published?
Independent 6
Source of funds
Percentage of funds by revenue element (collected in AIS) by subtypes and size
Australian Charities Report 2016
(not subtype)
Highly regulated charities 7
Percentage of all charities by sector and size No
Closely held organisations
Charities controlled by family members or same address 8
Legal structure
No (ACNC has data on a charity’s legal structure)
6 May analyse more information on ACNC approved reporting groups
7 Draft definition of highly regulated charities include DET, ORIC and other sectors.
8 At this point, a charity will be defined as being closely held if 50% or more of all active responsible persons have the same surname/address.

16. Measures for 2nd object…annual series part 4
Specification
Previously published?
Innovative
Mergers and acquisitions
Number of voluntary revocations (due to mergers and acquisitions) by subtypes and size 9
The Growth and Change in Australia’s Charities 2014 to 2016
(details on voluntary revocations, but not subtypes or size)
Potential for new AIS question
Responsible persons
Turnover of responsible persons 10 No
Annual series to be a guide to performance of the market on the concepts in 2nd Object
The measures should be simple and robust
Prefer data already gathered, some new ‘activity’ questions …
Take time to educate, and explain the measures …
Measures are sector-wide, not charity-specific
9 It would be good to have a profile of merged charities, it would provide further insight as to developments in the sector.
10 Charities are already required (under their duty to notify obligations) to notify the ACNC of changes to responsible persons.

17. KEEP IN TOUCH AND CONNECT WITH US
acnc.gov.au
13 ACNC ( ) 9.00am – 5:00pm AEST
facebook.com/acnc.gov.au
@acnc_gov_au
youtube.com/ACNCvideos
‘Aussie Charities and NFPs’
There are currently over 56,000 registered charities in Australia