March 2009
The first seminar is on the financial reporting obligations of NFPs.  It would be useful for Commitee of Management/Board members, Managers and members of staff who work with governance, finance and compliance.  The details of the seminar are as follows:

Financial Reporting and commitee member duties in tough economic times
Details: What does your organisation need to know about its legal obligations, and how can you best ensure compliance?  What are the roles and responsibilities of Committee of Management/Board members?
Date: 12 March 2025
Time: 4pm - 6pm
Location: Clayton Utz, Level 18, 333 Collins Street Melbourne

There are still some places available, although they are limited.  For further details and to register please see:

April 2009 Seminar & Focus Group
Now that we have lauched our webportal we are very keen to get feedback from users so we can take this into account when developing the next wave of resources.  To thank people for participating in the  focus group we are offering them a free place at our seminar on legal issues around website and othe information communication technologies.  It is easy - no web experience required!  Have a coffee, look through our website in light of a few tasks/questions and give us some feedback about useability etc.  The details of the seminar and focus group are:

IT for community organisations: tips on legal issues
Date: April 2009
Time: Focus Group: 9.00am - 9.45am and Seminar: 10am-12.30pm
Location: AMES Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (opposite Victoria Market)

For further details and to register for the seminar and focus group please see:

The full year’s program is still being finalised but for proposed dates and topics see: 

PilchConnect and Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) regional training
In 2009 PilchConnect and VCOSS are working together to bring governance training to regional Victoria, running a program entitled ‘Board Members: Roles, Responsibilities, Liabilities and Protections.’

The training will cost $30 and run from 10.00am until 12.30pm on Tuesday 19 May in Wangaratta and on Tuesday 26 May in Warrnambool. 

For information, including how to register see:

PilchConnect is monitoring the progress of the Associations Incorporation Amendment Bill which proposes a number of amendments to the current way in which incorporated associations operate.

Updates on the progress of the proposed amendments, together with a summary of how the proposed changes will impact on incorporated associations are available at:

In February 2009 the Federal Court of Australia heard an appeal from the decision of the Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT) in AID/WATCH Inc v Commissioner of Taxation.  In that earlier decision, the AAT had considered the definition of ‘charitable institution’ for tax purposes, and concluded that organisations with objectives which included advocacy and activist lobbying could still be considered ‘charitable’ where these aims do not represent the main objects of that organisation.

The Federal Court appeal was initiated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) who maintains the view that the approach by the AAT on the definition of charity was too broad, and organisations with an activism or lobbyist agenda should not be considered charitable.  The Federal Court’s judgment is expected to be delivered in the next few weeks and will be an important decision which will clarify the definition of ‘charitable institution’ for the future. 

The PilchConnect webportal will provide updates on the Federal Court’s decision when it becomes available.

Concessions for charitable fundraising following Victorian bushfires
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced GST concessions which are available for certain charitable fund-raising events in the wake of the recent Victorian bushfires.  The concessions allow designated charitable institutions, government schools and gift-deductible groups to nominate fundraising events which would normally attract GST to instead be GST-free.  The concession is not available for all fundraising activities and all organisations should contact the ATO to confirm their eligibility.

In a similar initiative, the ATO has also announced that ‘bucket donations’ of up to $10 provided in response to the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods are able to be claimed as a tax deduction in the 2008/09 year without the usual need to provide a receipt.  Donations over $10 will still require a receipt, however if the donation was made over the phone or online, a credit card statement or internet receipt will be sufficient.

For further details on these ATO initiatives, see:

Volunteer support grants following Victorian bushfires
The Victorian Government has announced two new volunteer support grants to all areas affected by the recent bushfires. All not-for-profit groups that include volunteers in their activities are eligible.

For more information and application details on the available grants see:

PilchConnect is a specialist legal service which has been set up to provide legal help to not-for-profit community organisations (NFPs).

The service provides free and low cost legal information, training, advice and legal referrals for Victorian NFPs. We also undertake law reform and advocacy work about the wide range of legal issues that affect the not-for-profit sector.

PilchConnect is keen to keep interested NFPs up-to-date with legal issues that may affect them or the broader NFP sector.  We now have a new e-bulletin format which will provide your organisation with regular updates, including:

• details of upcoming, low-cost legal seminars PilchConnect is running for NFPs;
• explanations of recent or proposed changes to the laws that affect Victorian NFPs (we cover State-based laws and relevant Federal laws);
• information about policy, law reform or advocacy activities on issues relevant to NFPs and ways that your organisation can contribute or provide feedback; and
• interesting legal cases relevant to NFPs.

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this e-bulletin please email connect@pilch.org.au.

We also welcome your contributions to and feedback on the e-bulletin. Please email us at connect@pilch.org.au.

To find out more about our service see: