UNDER red tape reduction measures designed to remove duplication in reporting, 600 charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) will no longer be required to report to the ACT government.

After the signing of the MOU today (June 29) between Access Canberra and the ACNC, from July 1 charities registered with the ACNC that undertake fundraising will no longer need a charitable collection licence in the ACT and will only need to submit their Annual Information Statement once, to the ACNC

Access Canberra’s deputy director-general, Dave Peffer says the “Red Tape Reduction Legislation Amendment Act 2017”, passed on June 6, removed the duplication of reporting requirements and makes the ACNC the primary regulator for charities.

“What this means in practice is less paperwork for charities and more time for them to do what they do best: supporting our community,” Mr Peffer says.

The ACNC’s commissioner, Susan Pascoe says: “Beginning almost immediately, the ACT’s registered charities will benefit from the removal of arrangements that required duplicative reporting to two different regulators.

“The ACNC will continue to work with other state and territory governments to implement similar reforms for the benefit of Australia’s registered charities and the community.”

The MOU formalises the sharing of information between the two organisations.

Once a charity advises ACNC of a change, the information will flow to the ACT from the ACNC avoiding duplication in reporting. This exchange of information will allow Access Canberra to have relevant information about charities operating as associations in the ACT.

The ACT’s registered charities are encouraged to check their Annual Information Statement due date with the ACNC by logging into the ACNC Charity Portal at charity.acnc.gov.au.

Charities seeking further information about their ongoing obligations should visit ACNC atwww.acnc.gov.au/ongoingobligations  or email advice@acnc.gov.au.