Managing workplace complaints in your community organisation - discrimination, bullying, harassment and the new Fair Work Act

Workplace complaints from both staff and volunteers are something that many community organisations will be confronted with at some stage. When handled incorrectly, performance management issues can develop into unintended and stressful situations for everyone involved.  Using hypothetical scenarios, this seminar will highlight the differences between discrimination, bullying and harassment and discuss how to respond to workplace complaints - from either paid staff or volunteers - effectively. The seminar will also discuss the effect of the Fair Work Act and its application in this context to NFP organisations.

Date:  Thursday 12 November 2024
Time:  9.30am–12.30pm (registrations from 9:00am)
Presenter:  Paul Ronfeldt, Principal Lawyer (Russell Kennedy)
Venue:  Russell Kennedy, Level 12, 469 Latrobe Street, Melbourne 3000
Cost:  $30 (including GST) administration fee per person

Registrations are now open.  You will find a registration form and further details at the following page.

PilchConnect with the assistance of Middletons Lawyers has produced a free comprehensive resource for committee members of Victorian incorporated associations.

The Guide for Public Officers and Secretaries of Victorian Incorporated Associations provides useful information and practical information, including sample documents, checklists, and flowcharts. The Guide is designed to assist people involved in running a not-for-profit community organisation (that is registered as an incorporated association) in Victoria.

The Guide is an adaptation of The Secretary’s Handbook for Queensland Incorporated Associations by Prof Myles McGregor-Lowndes of the Queensland University of Technology. It has been produced with support from the Office of the Community Sector and Consumer Affairs Victoria, agencies of the State Government of Victoria.

The Guide is available for free from PilchConnect’s website by following the below link.

All Victorian incorporated associations must provide an annual statement to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) about the financial affairs of the organisation for that year.  This is a requirement under s.30 of the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Vic). The annual statement must be lodged within one month after the Annual General Meeting (AGM), where the annual statement must be submitted to the group’s members for consideration.

A failure to lodge the financial statement within one month of the AGM can lead to financial penalties for the association. If your organisation is unlikely to meet the timeframes for lodging this document, the Public Officer may apply for an extension of time with CAV - it is best to apply for an extension before the statement or meeting is due.  An application for extension of time carries an administrative fee ($23.40 at as 1 October 2024), and can be made either online or in hardcopy.  CAV will then make a decision about your application. 

For more information about reporting to CAV, including what needs to be reported and the process for reporting, see 'Part 8: Reporting to Consumer Affairs Victoria' of PilchConnect's Guide for Public Officers and Secretaries of Victorian Incorporated Associations which can be accessed below.

Full Federal Court decision – Commissioner of Taxation v Aid/Watch Incorporated

The Full Federal Court has released its decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Aid/Watch Incorporated.  The case looks at a decision by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to take away the endorsed charitable status of Aid/Watch Incorporated. 

Aid/Watch is an incorporated association which advocates for efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of aid by the Australian Government. The ATO revoked Aid/Watch's endorsed charitable status on the grounds that a main objective of the group is to change government policy, therefore its main purpose was considered political.  Aid/Watch is currently considering whether to seek leave to appeal this decision to the High Court.

The decision may have significant consequences for endorsed charities that engage in activities that could be seen as having a political purpose.  A case summary setting out the main principles of the Federal Court’s decision can be found on the  PilchConnect website.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently released the figures from its 2006/07 Satellite Account for NFPs. The ABS report reaffirms the importance of the NFP sector to the Australian economy, finding that in the 2006/07 financial year:

• NFPs contributed around $43 billion to Australia’s economy – equivalent to 4.1% of the country’s economy.
• Volunteers in the NFP sector contributed a total of 623 million hours of work, the same as 317,200 fulltime jobs. This volunteer contribution is valued at approximately $14.6 billion.
• NFPs employed close to 890,000 people and generated approximately $76.6 billion of income throughout the sector.

The full ABS report for the 2006/07 financial year can be found on the  ABS website.

PilchConnect was recently acknowledged in the Victorian Government’s Legal Services Annual Report for 2007-08. In that Report, the Department of Justice recognised that:

'PILCHConnect services include legal information fact sheets, seminars and other services to help them comply with their legal obligations. PILCHConnect is a positive step in providing assistance to many non-profit organisations in a manner that understands the commonalities of their issues and reserves direct referrals for advice when things go wrong.’

The full Government Legal Services Report is available from the  Department of Justice website.

PilchConnect is a specialist legal service which has been set up to provide legal help to Victorian, not-for-profit community organisations.  The service provides free and low cost legal information, training, advice and legal referrals for Victorian not-for-profit community organisations. We also undertake law reform and advocacy work about the wide range of legal issues that affect the not-for-profit sector.

To find out more about the legal services we provide, go to  How PilchConnect can help your community organisation on our website.

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