Starting the Debate for an Australian Charity Commissioner

David Locke, the Executive Director of Charity Services, Charity Commission for England and Wales, is currently in Australia for meetings and forum discussions with Government and Not for Profit leaders.

 

In Brisbane, up to one hundred representatives from all areas of the charity sector attended a seminar designed to encourage discussion and debate about the best regulatory model for charities and other Not for Profit organisations in Australia.

 

Myles McGregor-Lowndes, the Director of The Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at QUT says it was good to hear 'direct from the horses mouth' just how the Charity Commission has operated in the UK and elsewhere.

 

However, McGregor Lowndes says there are still very many questions that need to be asked before Australia goes down a similar track.

 

He says these include questions around issues of independence, structure, resourcing and whether ancilliary matters, such as proper reporting standards around annual reporting statements are addressed. Issues he says are likely to take some time.

 

McGregor Lowndes says there are some serious lessons to be learned from the UK, Singapore and New Zealand; countries which have all had major reforms to their charity laws in recent times.

 

Sue Woodward, Senior Lawyer with PilchConnect, says David Locke is set to engender thoughtful debate an Australian Charity Commission which was one of the recommendations in the Henry Tax review and before that a key recommendation of the Productivity Commission.

 

PilchConnect is responsible with bringing David Locke to Australia with events co-hosted with QUT.

 

David Locke is responsible for the strategy, leadership and delivery of the Charity Commission's regulatory services to charities. He established the Commission's Charity Services Division in 2005, developing a customer service ethos and changing the business model from regional site-based functions across England and Wales, into a national structure.

 

With the Charity Commission's International Program, David has acted as a consultant and adviser to a number of Governments on issues of NGO regulation. He has recently been working in Kenya and Zambia.

 

Sue Woodward says some of the key questions that also need to be discussed are; What role should the Federal and State governments play?  Should any new regulator only be for charities?  And should it oversee public fundraising by the sector?

 

Up to 15 government representatives attended the Brisbane seminar and David Locke is set to meet with the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion, Senator Ursula Stephens, in Canberra. He will speak in Melbourne on Friday.