Seminar for September 2010: Privacy for not-for-profits

Does your organisation worry about getting the balance between openness and privacy right? Does privacy legislation apply to not-for-profit organisations?  What records can volunteers and clients access? What purposes can your register of members be used for? Do you need consent to conduct direct marketing?

This seminar will provide participants with a basic understanding of the laws about information privacy, spam and confidentiality, with a focus on how these issues often arise in the context of running a not-for-profit community organisation.

Date: Wednesday, 8 September 2024

Time: 9.30am-12.30pm (registrations from 9.15am)

Presenters: Kaman Tsoi, Senior Associate at Freehills Lawyers

Venue: Freehills, Level 42, 101 Collins St, Melbourne

Cost: $40 (incl. GST) administration fee per person

Light refreshments will be provided

Registrations for this seminar are now open, and it is filling fast.  For more information, or to register please visit:

Seminar for October 2010: Insurance and not-for-profits

Would you like to understand the main types of insurance that are relevant to not-for-profit, community organisations - what they cover and, just as importantly, what they don’t? Do your board or committee members need insurance? When is volunteer insurance necessary? When do you need to notify your insurers about an incident? If you hold an event on someone else’s property, are you covered by their insurance?

Understanding the benefits and limits to insurance is an important part of managing risk and protecting the assets and funds of your organisation. This seminar will provided participants with an overview of when they might need to get insurance, and tips about what to look for in policies.

Date: Tuesday, 5 October 2024

Time: 9.30am-12.30pm (registrations from 9.15am)

Presenters: Christien Corns, Senior Associate at Middletons Lawyers

Venue: Middletons, Level 25, Rialto South Tower, 525 Collins St, Melbourne

Cost: $40 (incl. GST) administration fee per person

Light refreshments will be provided

Registrations for this seminar are now open. For more information, or to register please visit:

Beaufort, Victoria

Throughout 2010, PilchConnect and the VCOSS Clearinghouse are working together to run governance training for people involved in not-for-profit organisations in regional Victoria.  We are running a seminar entitled ‘Board Members: Roles, Responsibilities, Liabilities and Protections', and in September we’ll be heading to Beaufort.

This 'back to basics' training is suitable for new not-for-profit board/committee of management members - or existing board or committee members that are seeking a refresher on the roles and legal responsibilities that come with helping to run an effective community organisation in Victoria.  Attendees will work in small groups on practical, hypothetical scenarios which are common to many community organisations. We encourage multiple board members to attend this seminar.

Date:               Tuesday, 14 September 2024
Time:               11am – 2.30pm
Venue:             Community Development Centre, Cnr Pratt & Lawrence St, Beaufort
Presenters:       PilchConnect Staff
Cost:                $40 (incl. GST) admin fee per person ($20 for VCOSS members)
Refreshments:   A light lunch will be provided

To register for either of these sessions, or for further information and details of other community training throughout regional Victoria in 2010, please visit the VCOSS Clearinghouse website below.

Over the past few months, our  previous e-bulletins have explored legislative reforms that are currently taking place for Victorian incorporated associations.  These reforms, contained in the Associations Incorporation Amendment Bill 2010, have now been passed by State Parliament and received Royal Assent on 24 August 2010.  However, while the content of the reforms is now finalised, the changes will not be implemented until at least mid 2011, giving not-for-profits plenty of opportunity to prepare for the new laws.

While the new laws passed without any major amendment, it was highlighted in the Legislative Council that that the growing law for associations in Victoria "may no longer serve its fundamental and primary purpose, which was always about providing a simple and inexpensive regulatory framework for associations to incorporate".  PilchConnect will continue to push for the Act to be made more user friendly and understandable in the future. 

Once implemented, the reforms will introduce key changes to the day-to-day operations of incorporated associations, including:

• new governance arrangements for associations, including new duties for committee members;
• changes to the annual reporting requirements and audit thresholds;
• removal of the limitations on trading;
• changes to grievance and dispute resolution procedures;
• amendments to procedures for winding up and external administration; and
• introduction of new matters that must be included in an organisation's Rules.

PilchConnect has produced a page on our website to provide further details about these reforms, and how they will affect incorporated associations once they commence in 2011.  For more information, follow the below link to our page dedicated to the reforms:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently announced its intention to undertake a major information gathering exercise called the Information Development Plan (IDP) for the Non-profit Institutions Sector. 

The IDP project has been developed in response to the Productivity Commission's recommendation earlier this year that the Australian Government should address deficiencies in the availability, timeliness, scope, quality and accessibility of data needed to better measure the contribution of the NFP sector. 

The IDP project will help guide discussion of the statistical needs and priorities for the sector, with the view to ensuring that the size and contribution of Australia's not-for-profit sector can be accurately recorded.

For further information of the IDP, including the background to the project and the areas that will be covered, please visit the ABS website below:

On 8 September 2010, the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) is facilitating the ‘Executive Management OHS Forum’, an event that will prepare community sector leaders for the upcoming harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws.

This interactive Forum will discuss the impact of the model Work Health & Safety Act which will be in effect in all states and territories from January 2012.  In particular, the forum will examine the new scheme’s duty of care imposed on officers of community organisations, as well as tips for compliance.  The details of the event are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 8 September 2024

Time: 9.30am-12.00pm (registrations from 8.45am)

Venue: ANZ Pavilion, The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

Cost:   $55 (includes morning tea)

For more information about this Forum, or to register your interest, please visit the VCOSS registration page below:

Governance support available for not-for-profits

Did you know that Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) offers pro bono governance support for certain not-for-profit organisations?  There are a number of CSA members that have indicated their willingness to provide free organisational advice and support to not-for-profits, including developing internal policies and systems that will result in best practice governance for your organisation.  Specific areas that CSA may be able to assist with include:

• Assistance to board members regarding duties and responsibilities;
• Assistance with preparation of internal templates and policies;
• Assistance with Annual Report preparation and other statutory reporting; and
• Provision of advice (in a mentoring capacity). 

A not-for-profit review panel has been established within CSA to consider requests for pro bono assistance, and seeks to match eligible not-for-profits with those CSA members that have experience in assisting organisations with their governance models.

Further information on CSA’s not-for-profit program, including details on eligibility and contact information can be found by emailing CSA at  info@CSAust.com or by visiting the  CSA website.  

A media release announcing the program can be found by following the below link:

The Victorian Government's Office for the Community Sector (OCS) will be hosting the 2010 Think Innovation Summit on Wednesday, 22 September 2024 from 8.00am to 3.30pm.

The Summit promises a range of engaging speakers, an opportunity to partake in discussions on how not-for-profit community organisations are evolving, and discussions on how the sector as a whole can work collaboratively to ensure continual responsiveness.  For further details, or to register for this event, please visit the OCS website below:

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.

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

If you would like to contribute to, or provide feedback about this e-bulletin, please email
  connect@pilch.org.au.

To find out more about the legal services we provide, see:

Previous e-bulletins

Have you missed an earlier edition of PilchConnect's e-bulletin and want to get up-to-date?  All of our previous newsletters are available on the PilchConnect website at the link below, including this month's edition!