Who knew Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs) were such a hot topic right now? Well, definitely the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and the very engaged audience who attended last week’s seminar at QUT. Hosted by the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS), this seminar brought together professional advisers, sector leaders and academics to…

We’re very lucky to have Dr Diana Leat and Dr Oonagh Breen currently visiting from the UK. Prof Diana Leat has been a consultant to various grantmaking foundations in the UK and Australia, reviewing their policies and practices and is an acknowledged international scholar of philanthropic trusts and nonprofit management and governance. Prof Oonagh Breen is a…

We are thrilled to have Associate Professor Wendy Scaife appointed as the new Director of ACPNS. Wendy has an extensive involvement in the nonprofit sector and has been Acting Director for the past two years. She has built on the inspirational work and foresight of the founding Director, Prof Myles McGregor-Lowndes who will remain involved in…

A new publication on social procurement is now available. Authors are Prof Jo Barraket, Prof Robyn Keast and Dr Craig Furneaux (ACPNS). In recent years, the search for innovative, locally relevant and engaging public service has become the new philosophers’ stone. Social procurement represents one approach to maximising public spending and social value through the purchase…

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is preparing a new Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement on Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs) and the ATO intends to withdraw its outdated tax ruling. What are the differences? How have recent cases changed the view of what is a PBI? Has the definition contracted or expanded? Professional advisers, sector leaders and…

A tax-deductible donation bounce has been revealed by the ATO annual statistics for the 2013–14 tax year. Total gift deductions from taxpayers rose to $2.615b, up $322m on the previous year, and now exceeding the high recorded prior to the GFC. The recovery has been slow and taken longer than other countries such as the US…

The latest edition of the Australian Sector Nonprofit Legal and Accounting Almanac is now available. The annual publication contains a summary of significant cases, legislation, and tax issues impacting on the nonprofit sector as well as topical updates written by practitioners. It also includes updates of legislative changes in all Australian jurisdictions. Significant Australian cases included…

A new report which examines the definitions of fundraising and formal Australian accounting standards to ascertain their impact on reporting fundraising transactions by not-for-profit entities is now available. Charities’ fundraising financial transactions should be reported in the interests of accountability, and the report should be publicly available. However, research shows that at present there is little…

Australians have increased their average charitable donations each year since 2009/10, and a nationwide QUT led study aims to find out what motivates people to give to nonprofit organisations. The Giving Australia 2015-2016 project is the largest ever study on giving and volunteering in Australia and is underway, led by QUT’s Australian Centre for Philanthropy and…

Since 2002, ACPNS has been surveying professional advisers to affluent Australians intermittently to seek their views and experiences around client and personal philanthropy. Why?: because professional advisers on finance, wealth management, law, accounting, taxation, estate management and beyond are an important nexus with people who have the capacity to channel significant funding into community need and…