Minister doubles size of ACNC advisory board
Posted on 23 Feb 2025
By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia
The federal government has beefed up membership of the advisory body to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), ensuring all states and territories are represented.
The decision will increase the number of representatives on the ACNC advisory board from eight to 15.
Charities Minister Andrew Leigh said the move was designed to aid the nation’s 62,000 charities by ensuring better collaboration between the states and Canberra and a reduction in unnecessary paperwork.
Leigh said the new-look board, which has been chaired since 2023 by Sarah Davies, the CEO of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, will boast the greatest representation by state and territory governments since its inception in 2013.
The move aligns with recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s landmark Future Foundations for Giving report.
Leigh said the appointments ensured that all states and territories would be represented in the national conversation about helping charities and reconnecting communities.
“Labor wants to minimise the time that Australia’s great charities spend doing paperwork, so we can maximise the energy they devote to helping the vulnerable, cleaning up the environment, helping people stay active, and connecting neighbours,” he said.
“One of the best ways of achieving this is to ensure that all jurisdictions are working together on charitable regulation.”
“Bringing sector experts and regulators from all states and territories onto the advisory board of the charities commission will help charities by reducing regulatory overlap, and ensuring jurisdictions are working together to help charities and non‑profits thrive.”
The board supports Commissioner Sue Woodward by offering informed advice on matters affecting charities and strengthening the governance and effectiveness of the sector.
Current members include the CEO of the Community Council for Australia, David Crosbie, and the former director of the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes.
Leigh said the new appointments aimed to foster a consistent national approach to regulatory and policy matters within the charity sector.
He said they would also provide an additional layer of regulatory expertise, complementing that of the sector based members and enhancing the board’s role as a forum supporting charity law, policy and regulatory reform.
“Bringing sector experts and regulators from all states and territories onto the advisory board of the charities commission will help charities by reducing regulatory overlap, and ensuring jurisdictions are working together to help charities and non‑profits thrive,” said Leigh.