Final Research Report [top]
The final research report titled "A Better Framework: reforming not-for-profit regulation" (released 19 February 2004) is available for download in PDF format
Final Research Report - Media Release [top]
The media release regarding the release of the final research report is available in word format.
Project Summary [top]
This collaborative project examined the appropriateness of existing corporate legal frameworks as they apply to not-for-profit (NFP) companies. It challenged the application of laws designed for companies with profit making objectives to NFP organisations. The project considered the issues of reporting and accountability to NFP stakeholders and how these stakeholders (and their needs) differ from those of stakeholders in ‘for-profit’ companies. It is hoped that the results of the study and the reform recommendations in the final report will engender informed debate within the sector.
Background [top]
The NFP sector plays a vital role in the Australian economy. Australians give $2.8 billion annually to NFP organisations. The most recent official estimates suggest that NFP institutions contribute almost 4.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). They also make a significant contribution to employment, accounting for 6.8% of total employment in 1999 - 2000. In comparative terms, NFP institutions add more to GDP than the mining industry. Increasingly the sector’s importance is being recognised worldwide, but in Australia there has been only limited research into NFP companies.
The legal nature of not-for-profit organisations is even more varied than in the ‘for-profit’ sector. Many, particularly smaller organisations, are incorporated under State based associations legislation. By contrast, many of the large welfare organisations are church sponsored and have no clearly defined identity of their own. Another significant group are incorporated as companies limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The complexity of the legal forms of NFP organisations has important implications for accountability, governance and regulation, and was a key focus of the study.
Project aims[top]
The project aims were to:
- obtain the views of those in the NFP sector, in particular those in NFP companies
- identify what is working in the current regulatory regime and what is not – for example, is a company limited by guarantee the most appropriate legal structure, what type of information should be disclosed and to whom and who is the most appropriate regulator for NFP organisations?
- make law reform recommendations and engender further debate.
Current status of project [top]
The project has now been completed (February 2004). In 2002 a survey was sent out to 9,817 companies limited by guarantee and over 1,700 replies were received. Analysis of the data from this survey and recommendations for reform are contained in the final research report.
Article [top]
In March 2003, a detailed article reporting the results of this survey titled, ‘Not-for-profit’ Motivation in a ‘For-profit’ Company Law Regime, was published in the Australian Company Law and Securities Journal. This article (printed in the Companies and Securities Law Journal, Vol 21 March 2003) is reproduced on this website with the express permission of the © Lawbook Co, part of Thomson Legal & Regulatory Limited, http://www.thomson.com.au. That permission does not include the right to grant others permission to photocopy or down-load or otherwise reproduce the article for commercial use. Anyone who wishes to reproduce the article in another form should request the permission of Thomson Legal & Regulatory Limited. The article is available here in PDF format.
Summary of Preliminary Findings [top]
The Summary of Preliminary Findings was released in February 2003 and is available in either HTML or PDF format.
Preliminary Findings - Media Release [top]
The Media Release regarding the Preliminary Findings is available in PDF format.
Submission - Financial Reporting of Unlisted Public Companies [top]
A submission to the The General Manager, Corporations and Financial Services Division, Treasury Department on Financial Reporting by Unlisted Public Companies dated 16 August 2007.
Submission - Review of the Associations Incorporations Act 1981 VIC [top]
The Victorian Department for Consumer Affairs is undertaking a review of the Associations Incorporations Act 1981 Vic. In response to the Department's Discussion Paper (24 March 2004) and drawing on research from the Project, Susan Woodward has made a submission to the review. The submission is available here in PDF format.
The conclusion of the submission states "The associations’ incorporation legislation has aimed to provide ‘a relatively simple mechanism of incorporation’ as ‘a means of encouraging and promoting the formation and expansion of voluntary organisations in Victoria’. For many years the Act has served this purpose relatively well. However, the nature and needs of many NFP organisations (small and large) have changed, as has the environment in which they operate. The fact that the Victorian review contemplates a nationally consistent framework is to be commended. In order to continue to provide an effective framework to support the important contribution NFP organisations make to the community, it is essential that there is now a uniform approach. The regulatory framework needs to be streamlined to meet the specialist needs of NFP organisations and to avoid the current complexity and duplication. As the corporations’ law experience has shown, a nationally consistent approach is best achieved by a referral of powers and an independent, specialist, national regulator. There is also a demonstrated need for greater support services for NFPs to underpin the accountability and good governance, both of which are essential to maintaining donor confidence."
Submission - Review of the Associations Incorporations Act 1984 NSW [top]
There are currently reviews of Associations Incorporations Acts being carried out in a number of states. While the Associations Incorporations legislation has served the not-for-profit sector well, a coordinated review is required. In order to continue to provide an effective framework to support the economically and socially significant contribution not-for-profit organisations make to the community, it is essential that there is now a uniform legislative approach. Our sole recommendation to the NSW Office of Trading is for the establishment of a uniform regulatory regime for Incorporated Associations nation-wide.
The submission is available here in PDF format. Feel free to provide us with feedback on this submission, or to support it in your submission to the NSW Office of Fair Trading.
Feedback [top]
We welcome feedback on the project findings and recommendation.
Contact details [top]
Ms Josephine Peters
Email: j.peters@unimelb.edu.au
7th Floor
Faculty of Law
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Ph (+61 3) 8344 5281
Fax: (+61 3) 8344 5285
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