It's been a big year for the sector - and there's plenty to celebrate as we reflect on 2012.

We are delighted that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) officially opened its doors this month. PilchConnect has been an ongoing advocate and supporter of a national charities regulator - and we're so pleased that the ACNC will be up and running as we ring in the New Year.

2012 has also seen the passage and enactment of new legislation for Victorian incorporated associations, including new model rules and regulations. We've been especially mindful of the direct impact that these reforms have had on Victorian community groups, and hope that we've been of some assistance during this time of regulatory change.

We've been working hard to assist organisations like yours to keep up with the pace of change, and we've continued to provide practical and up-to-date legal information and advice about the common issues for Victorian nfps. In 2012 we've provided direct legal advice (either by phone or pro bono referrals ) to 550+ NFPs, facilitated and delivered training to 2090+ people throughout Victoria, added 27 new resources to our webportal - all in addition to our law reform and policy work, where we've contributed no less than 13 submissions!

Please keep spreading the word about the service we offer. Next year we have lots of great (and new!) things planned - including the expansion of some parts of our service into New South Wales to coincide with the merging of PILCH Victoria and PILCH NSW. Our e-bulletins and tweets will continue to keep you updated. You make the difference - we try to make it easier for you. 

Thank you for your support. From all of the team here at PilchConnect, have a safe and joyful summer break.

Preparations for our 2013 NFP seminar series are well underway!

To make sure we create a series that is relevant to you and your organisation, we invite you to contact us with the three most challenging legal issues faced by your organisation, and what you would like to see on our 2013 training calendar. Email your suggestions and/or top three seminar topics or legal issues to connect@pilch.org.au.

A provisional list of topics, dates and host speakers will be provided on our website early in the New Year. We will kick off the year with our popular Legal Issues in Managing Volunteers session in late February - keep an eye on our January e-bulletin for further details.

Thank you in anticipation for your input. We look forward to seeing you in 2013.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has now opened its doors, officially launched this month by the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon. David Bradbury MP.

Susan Pascoe AM has now formally been appointed by the Governor General as the inaugural Commissioner of the ACNC. PilchConnect welcomes the appointment, and we extend our most sincere congratulations to Ms Pascoe and all at the ACNC – who we look forward to working with in 2013.

The new ACNC website can now be accessed at www.acnc.gov.au, where charities can register their organisation, manage their information, and access practical and up-to-date information and resources on the ACNC and its role. For individuals, the new ACNC website also allows you to search and find registered charities. Currently, only core information about a charity is available on the ACNC Register, with more information to be made available during 2013.

For further information about the ACNC, visit their  website, or contact the ACNC Advice Line on 13 ACNC  (13 22 62). 

(Picture: PilchConnect Director Juanita Pope with  ACNC Assistant Commissioner David Locke, ACNC  Commissioner Susan Pascoe, and ACNC Director of  Policy and Education Sue Woodward at the ACNC  launch.)

Public consultation on draft governance standards and financial reporting obligations released 

On the 17 December 2024 the Government released for public consultation:

• a paper on draft governance standards that, once finalised, will apply to charities registered with the ACNC, and 
• draft regulations on the new ACNC financial reporting framework for charities registered with the ACNC.

The governance standards cover six topics, including the purposes and not-for-profit (NFP) nature of charities, accountability to members, compliance with Australian laws, responsible management of financial affairs, and suitability and duties of those who manage charities. You can download the governance standards consultation paper here.

The draft financial reporting regulations set out the content requirements for financial reports lodged with the ACNC, and propose to significantly expand the range of professionals authorised to conduct a 'review' of medium sized registered charities. You can download the draft financial reporting regulations here.

The consultation period ends on Friday 15 February 2013.

As part of the consultation process, the ACNC will be holding stakeholder forums in capital cities and regional centres in late January and early February. Further information on the ACNC and these forums can be found at www.acnc.gov.au or by phoning 13 ACNC (13 2262).

The Office for the Not-for-Profit Sector within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) will also administer an online forum on www.notforprofit.gov.au to facilitate discussion and avenues for stakeholder input.

On 26 November 2012, the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Vic) (the old Act) was replaced with the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (the new Act). The new Act creates a new legislative framework for incorporated associations, including new regulations and new model rules (new model rules).

The new model rules have now been released. We've prepared a detailed transitional guide (see below) that includes practical guidance on how associations can transition from the old to the new model rules.

The new model rules are available by following the link below:

 Model rules for an incorporated association

PilchConnect has prepared a table comparing the old and new model rules, available below:

New guide for secretaries of incorporated associations

Since the release of the new Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 PilchConnnect has been working hard to update resources on the Webportal to reflect the new laws. PilchConnect has comprehensively updated its guide for secretaries of incorporated associations to reflect to the new laws, regulations and new model rules. You can access the Secretary's Satchel - Guide for Secretaries of Incorporated Associations here.

The guide contains eight chapters that address different responsibilities of secretaries in incorporated associations including:

• the appointment and removal of secretaries
• legal duties of secretaries
• keeping registers and records of the association
• preparing for and running annual general meetings, special general meetings and committee meetings
• preparing meeting minutes of meetings, and
• reporting to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

The chapters outline relevant laws and provide practical guidance and tools to assist secretaries in their role. The tools can now be downloaded separately from the chapters.

PilchConnect thanks Consumer Affairs Victoria (a division of the Victorian Government Department of Justice) for funding contributed to this project.

Note - the secretary referred to in the Guide is the secretary under the new Act, formerly known as the "Public Officer".

New Resources to assist incorporated associations to understand and meet new legal requirements

In addition to producing a new Guide for Secretaries, PilchConnect has put together three key resources to assist incorporated associations to understand the new requirements of the new Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012.

The resources include:

• A Transitional Guide - with practical guidance on transitional issues for incorporated associations including:
  • transitioning from the old reporting system to the new reporting system
  • transitioning from "public officer" to "secretary"
  • transitioning from old to new model rules, and
  • a summary of new laws
• A Rules Checklist - that outlines:
  • new requirements for rules of incorporated associations
  • steps incorporated associations need to take to make sure their rules meet new requirements, and
  • a table comparing the old and new rules requirements
• Model rules comparison table - that compares the old model rules with the new model rules. This table will assist associations to consider whether the new model rules will be suitable for their association.

You can access these resources on our website, below. 

Members access to the minutes of meetings

The new Associations Incorporation Reform Act (AIR Act) and the new model rules have certain requirements for providing minutes of meetings to members.

Can members request access to the minutes of general meetings?

Yes. The AIR Act provides members with a right to inspect the minutes of general meetings (meetings of the members of a Victorian incorporated association). Access must be granted within 14 days where a request has been made in writing and the fee (if any) is paid. An association's rules or bylaws cannot limit this right of access to the minutes of general meetings by members.

Can members request access to the minutes of committee meetings?

The new laws about access to committee meeting minutes are unclear. If your rules allow access to committee meeting minutes, you must follow your rules.

Under the old and new model rules, as a general rule, members can access the relevant documents of the association. There are arguments that committee meeting minutes are relevant documents of an association, however in practice many associations refuse access. Under the new model rules, there are explicit restrictions on the right of access to records of the association - such as where the records relate to confidential, personal, employment, commercial or legal matters, or where access would be prejudicial to the interest of the association.

If your association is using its own rules, but those rules do not address access to committee meeting minutes, best practice is to amend your rules to specifically address access (and any limitations on access) to committee meeting minutes.

But we don't want our members to access committee meeting minutes! Can we limit the access of committee meeting minutes?

Yes. If you are concerned about the ability of your members to access your committee meeting minutes, you can limit that access - or prohibit it altogether. But you need to make sure that the rules of your organisation clearly outline the right of access, if any, that members have to committee meeting minutes. If you wish to restrict access entirely, then you need to ensure that your rules clearly state that members are not able to request access to committee meeting minutes.

'Equal pay' increases commence 1 December 2012.

From 1 December 2012, NFPs may need to pay higher wages to their employees who work in the social and community services (SACS) industry.

On 1 February 2012, Fair Work Australia (FWA) made a historic decision to increase wages in the SACS industry. This was because FWA had found that there was no 'equal pay' for SACS workers for work of equal or comparable value when compared with workers in state and local government employment.

To find out exactly who needs to pay the increases, what those increases are, available government funding and where to go for more help, visit our website below:

2013 Opening of the Legal Year

On Tuesday 29 January 2013, the International Commission of Jurists Victoria will be holding the 2013 Community Opening of the Legal Year. This free public event will be hosted by the Hon Justice Lex Lasry, with guest speakers including Chief Justice of the Family Court the Honourable Diana Bryant AO and Adjunct Professor at RMIT Peter Norden AO.

Details for the event are as follows:

Date: Tuesday 29 January 2025
Time: 9.00am for a 9.30am start
Location: Waldron Hall, Level 1, County Court of Victoria

Further information is available on the website, below.

PilchConnect is a specialist legal service which provides legal help to 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 our legal services, visit our website below:

 PilchConnect - Legal help for community groups. 

View our staff profiles here. 

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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!