Seminar for May 2011 : Privacy - how to deal with private information in your organisation.

Privacy is an issue of increasing concern to not-for-profit organisations, particularly those dealing with sensitive personal information. Striking the right balance between openness and privacy is not always easy! Questions abound: What does the law consider to be ‘private' and does privacy legislation apply to not-for-profit organisations? Can you use photos of clients in your annual report? What records can volunteers and clients access? How does Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation affect us?

By the end of this popular seminar you will better understand the laws about information privacy and confidentiality and how they apply to your organisation. Take home practical tips to ensure that your group complies with its obligations in this important area.

The details of the seminar are as follows:

Date:             Wednesday 18 May 2024
Time:             9:30am - 12:30pm (registrations open at 9:15am)
Venue:           Freehills, Level 42, 101 Collins St, Melbourne
Cost:              $40 (incl. GST) per person
Refreshments: Light refreshments will be provided for morning tea.

This seminar is open to not-for-profit organisations. To register for this seminar, please click on registration form below.

Seminar for June 2011 : Running Fundraising Events

Is your community organisation planning a fundraising event?

Gala dinners, trivia nights, family fun days - great fun and hopefully great fundraisers for your organisation. Help to make sure that your event is a success by considering the legal aspects as part of your preparation. This engaging seminar will focus on what you need to know and do to comply with your legal obligations.

This seminar is generously presented and hosted by Freehills Lawyers.

The details of the seminar are as follows:

Date:                  Wednesday 15 June 2024
Time:                  9.30am to 12.30pm (registrations open at 9:15am)
Venue:                Freehills Lawyers Level 42, 101 Collins Street, Melbourne
Cost:                  $40 (incl. GST) administration fee per person
Refreshments:     Light refreshments will be provided for morning tea.

Registrations for this seminar are now open. To register, please visit:

Board Members: Roles, Responsibilities, Liabilities, and Protections

Throughout the year, PilchConnect and the VCOSS Clearinghouse will continue to work together to run governance training for people involved in not-for-profit organisations throughout regional Victoria.

This month we will be running a seminar entitled 'Board Members: Roles, Responsibilities, Liabilities and Protections'.

This 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.

Narre Warren:
With the generous support from City of Casey Council this session will be free for community organisations to attend.

Date:                 Wednesday 25 May 2024
Time:                 9.30am - 12.30pm
Venue:               City of Casey Civic Centre 
                         Magid Drive
                         Narre Warren 
Cost:                 Council Sponsored (free).
Refreshments:    Light refreshments will be provided for morning tea.

To register, or for further information and details of other community training throughout regional Victoria in 2011, please visit the VCOSS Clearinghouse website below.

Federal Budget to allow for Independent Regulator for Not-for-Profits.

In the lead-up to the release of the Federal Budget on 10 May 2011, several reports have indicated that the Government will include funding for a 'one-stop-shop' body to support and regulate Australia's not-for-profit sector. Specific details will be available once the official Budget is released, however this appears to be an extremely positive development for the sector, and one that could kickstart long awaited policy reform including the reduction of red-tape and harmonisation of NFP regulation and compliance.

To stay up-to-date on announcements in this area, follow us on the PilchConnect Twitter account or keep an eye on the PilchConnect website below:

Charity Law Reform Project Report - Freedom to speak, capacity to act.

The Charity Law Reform project was established by Changemakers Australia to investigate the impacts of legal restrictions of public policy reform advocacy on the not-for-profit sector and to progress the development of a reform agenda.

The final report of the project, Freedom to speak - capacity to act: Removing the barriers to advocacy has recently been released. The report found that not-for-profit organisations, including philanthropic organisations, have been negatively impacted by the restrictions on advocacy under charity and taxation laws. The report highlights that whilst the situation has been improved by the High Court decision in AidWatch v Commissioner of Taxation (Aid/Watch), this decision needs to be reflected in the Australian Tax Office (ATO) Tax Ruling for charities. The decision also calls into question the way that tax concessions are currently structured, opening the door for further legal reforms.

The report highlighted the following as key barriers to advocacy:

• The interpretation by the ATO of the common law pre Aid/Watch which restricted the advocacy activities of charities;
• The lack of clarity in the law, which has led to different interpretations of the legal obligations of charities and different approaches to self regulation;
• The lack of fairness in the law in that its application puts higher levels of restriction on some organisations than others;
• Advocacy resource constraints, due to a combination of the design of the tax concession framework and the interpretation of the law made to philanthropic organisations;
• Policy inertia which has held back changes which could strengthen the NFP sector and increase their ability to advocate in order to achieve their charitable goals.

The report includes a number of recommendations that build on the Aid/Watch decision and further Changemakers' objectives regarding the promotion of social change philanthropy and public policy reform, including:

ATO response to the Aid/Watch decision

• Changemakers to encourage the NFP sector to develop a sector-wide view of how the Aid/Watch decision should be reflected in the Income Tax and Fringe Benefit Tax: Charities tax ruling.
• Changemakers to work with other NFPs to influence the redrafting of the Income Tax and Fringe Benefit Tax: Charities tax ruling, towards ensuring an expansive interpretation of the Aid/Watch decision prevails in the new draft.
• Changemakers to ensure the specific needs of philanthropic organisations are considered in the process of finalising the tax ruling.

Sector response to the Aid/Watch decision

• Changemakers to engage with Philanthropy Australia on the development of an educational campaign to ensure that the philanthropic sector understands the implications of the Aid/Watch decision on philanthropic grant making.
• Changemakers to work with key NFPs, including peak organisations, towards better educating "doing" charities on how to attract philanthropic support for social change projects.

Charity sector modernisation

• Changemakers to support the establishment of a national regulator, on the basis that the regulator can be the source of future reforms to remove barriers to advocacy.
• Changemakers to provide a submission to the current consultation process which includes information from the survey undertaken as part of this project.

Tax concessions

• Changemakers to support a review of the tax concession framework, with the objective of:
  • Extending access to DGR to a wider range of charities, in particular those that are involved in public policy reform activities;
  • Removing the remaining restrictions which limit that ability of PBIs to engage in advocacy for public policy reform.

 The full report is available on the Changemakers website, below:

We are constantly updating the PilchConnect web portal to reflect developments within the not-for-profit sector. We are also working hard to generate new fact sheets and legal guides for Victorian community organisations on those issues that are relevant to the sector.

PilchConnect Fact sheet: Community Organisations and the Australian Consumer Law.

PilchConnect has developed a new fact sheet, designed to assist community organisations to understand how the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) affects them.

The ACL is a single, national law regulating consumer protection and fair trading, which applies in the same way nationally and in each State and Territory of Australia. 

The ACL imposes obligations on both individuals and companies or organisations who engage in trade or commerce or supply goods or services to consumers to act fairly and honestly and to ensure that the good and services they supply are safe. The ACL will apply to all not-for-profit community organisations when they engage in trade or commerce or supply goods and services to consumers, and covers five main areas:

• unfair business practices;
• unfair sales practices;
• unfair contract terms;
• consumer guarantees; and
• product safety.

Each area is addressed in further detail in the factsheet, available on the PilchConnect website below:

PilchConnect Guide for Public Officers and Secretaries

The PilchConnect Guide for Public Officers and Secretaries is designed to help you (as the public officer and/or secretary) and others within your organisation by alerting you to your legal obligations and offering "good governance" tips for running an incorporated association in Victoria.

It doesn't matter whether you are a volunteer in a small support group, or a paid officer of a large social club - any public officer or secretary of an incorporated association in Victoria can benefit from the Guide. The Guide may also be useful for other members of your organisation's management committee (or governing body, such as the "board"), as well as people and organisations who work with incorporated associations (such as peak bodies and advocacy groups).

The recently updated version of the Guide is available now on the PilchConnect website: 

The Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal Almanac 2010

Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (Queensland University of Technology) has recently released the Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal Almanac for 2010.

Now in its third year of publication, The Almanac has been edited by Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, and provides a terrific summary of the key developments in the not-for-profit sector throughout the year, including case notes of significant legal decisions and policy reforms.

The Almanac is available free online from the Queensland University of Technology website below:

JobWatch needs your support!

Victoria's only free specialist employment legal service, JobWatch, is facing closure after the Victorian Government last week confirmed that funding for this vital community service would end on June 30 2011.

Through the provision of legal information, advice, and representation for disadvantaged workers, JobWatch assists around 11,000 Victorians each year. The closure of JobWatch would be a serious blow to vulnerable Victorian workers who will have nowhere to go for free and confidential information and representation.

We strongly encourage you to find out more about how you can support JobWatch by visiting the website below.

Held between the 16-22 May 2011, Law Week is your opportunity to find out about the law and your legal system through over 100 exciting events throughout Victoria. Law week highlights include debates, exhibitions, seminars, court tours and more - including The Walk for Justice.

The Walk for Justice, now in its fourth year, raises much needed funds for PILCH organisations and their various legal assistance schemes in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This year's Victorian Walk for Justice will take place on 16 May 2024 and will raise funds to establish a pro bono disbursement fund.

Patrons at the Walk include:

• Robert Clark MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Finance
• The Honourable Michael Rozenes QC, Chief Justice of County Court of Victoria
• The Honourable Martin Pakula, Shadow Attorney-General
• Mark Moshinksy SC, Chair Victorian Bar Council
• Bevan Warner, Managing Director, Victoria Legal Aid
• The Honourable PD Cummins, Victoria Law Foundation

Date:              16 May 2024
Time:              7.30 am
Route:             Steps of Parliament to the County Court
Cost:              $20.00 for individual walkers, $10 for students and $180.00 per walking group of 10.

Register by following the link 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.

You can stay up to date with the latest news and information from PilchConnect through our Facebook page, or by following us on Twitter, or by visiting the PilchConnect website.

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!