Opinion Piece: Clearing up Charity Change
Published in Gladstone Today
13 February 2025
The definition of chutzpah is the guy who spills a drink and then complains that the waiter is taking too long to clean it up. In his column, Colin Boyce complains about the impact of reporting requirements for non-profits. What he fails to tell readers is that it was his party - the LNP - who put in place this requirement.
Before 2021, not-for-profit organisations that self-assess had not been required to report annually to the tax office. In their 2021 budget, the Morrison Government changed that, requiring non-charitable not-for profit organisations that self-assess as income tax exempt to lodge an annual self-review return with the tax office.
Under the change made in 2021 by the LNP, the first self-review return was due between 1 July 2024 and 31 October 2024.
Unfortunately, while the LNP parties changed the law, they left the hard work of implementing it to Labor. It was up to Labor to ensure that the change operated as smoothly as possible.
Under our government, the tax office allocated additional staff to process these annual self-reviews. Lodgement has been extended by five months, to 31 March 2025.
As the Assistant Minister for Charities, I have been giving advance notice to all members of parliament. Last year, I contacted all parliamentarians, letting them know about the upcoming change, reminding them that it was put into place by the former LNP, and providing information that could be distributed to constituents to help them comply with the change.
It is a pity that the LNP has chosen to play dishonest games. If he'd been honest, they might have told readers about the former LNP government's record on charities. They could admit that a nine-year LNP war on charities saw attacks on poverty, environmental and legal charities. Short funding cycles made it tough for charities to hold onto staff.
The LNP war on charities saw them appoint a charity critic as the head of the charities commission. This controversial pick sent shivers up the spines of many charities, who found themselves having to fight just to keep doing their job. Under the former government, major charities joined together to write three open letters to successive LNP Prime Ministers, pleading for an end to the war on charities.
Under Labor, all that has changed.
We appointed the widely respected Sue Woodward to head the charities commission. We set a target of doubling philanthropy by 2030.
We created a new pathway for community foundations to access tax deductible status and made it easier for charities to register for tax deductibility.
We sent a clear signal that charitable advocacy is supported and welcomed by this government. And we have worked with state and territory governments to streamline and harmonise fundraising rules across jurisdictions.
All these achievements are the result of a Labor government that cares about charities. And all these achievements would be at risk under Peter Dutton. For the sake of Australian charities, don't backtrack with Dutton.