Charitable Fundraising Regulation 2021

This Regulation is the Charitable Fundraising Regulation 2021.

This Regulation commences on 1 July 2021 and is required to be published on the NSW legislation website.

Note—

This Regulation repeals and replaces the Charitable Fundraising Regulation 2015, which would otherwise be repealed by the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, section 10(2).

In this Regulation—

Australian Accounting Standards means the standards issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board, as in force from time to time, and including any modifications prescribed by the regulations.

authority holder, in relation to a fundraising appeal, means a person or organisation that holds an authority to conduct the appeal.

charitable organisation, for Schedule 1A—see Schedule 1A, section 1.

child, for Schedule 1—see Schedule 1, section 2.

child participant, for Schedule 1—see Schedule 1, section 2.

child participant employee, for Schedule 1, Part 3, Division 3—see Schedule 1, section 36.

child participant employer, for Schedule 1, Part 3, Division 3—see Schedule 1, section 36.

commercial fundraiser, for Schedule 1A—see Schedule 1A, section 1.

deemed authority holder means a person or organisation taken to hold an authority under the Act, section 19B.

face-to-face collector means a person who participates in a fundraising appeal by face-to-face solicitation.

financial year, in relation to an organisation, means—

the financial year fixed for the organisation by the organisation’s constitution, or

if no financial year is fixed for the organisation by the organisation’s constitution—the year commencing 1 July.

fundraising activity means an activity conducted in the course of, or for the purposes of, conducting or participating in a fundraising appeal.

gross amount, in relation to a fundraising appeal, means the amount collected by a trader in relation to the appeal minus the following—

the fair and reasonable expenses incurred by the trader in relation to the appeal,

a wage, commission or fee paid to the trader in relation to the appeal.

receipt includes a ticket.

supply of goods does not include giving a person who donates to a fundraising appeal a badge, sticker, token or other thing in acknowledgment of the person’s donation.

the Act means the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991.

Note—

The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

The following provisions do not apply to a deemed authority holder—

section 8,

section 9,

section 17,

section 18,

section 19,

section 20,

section 21,

section 22,

section 26.

For the purposes of the Act, section 9(2)(a), the following organisations and persons are authorised to conduct a fundraising appeal without being the holder of an authority—

a council,

a committee of a council, whether or not all of the members of the committee are councillors of the council,

for a fundraising appeal conducted for a trust—the trustees of the trust if 1 or more of the trustees is—

a council, or

a mayor, councillor, general manager, public officer or senior staff member of a council who is a trustee by virtue of holding the office, or

a person nominated by a council who is a trustee by virtue of the person’s nomination.

In this section—

council, councillor, mayor, public officer and senior staff have the same meanings as in the Local Government Act 1993.

For the purposes of the Act, section 9(2)(a), a university or a controlled entity is authorised to conduct a fundraising appeal without being the holder of an authority.

In this section—

controlled entity means a person, group of persons or body of which a university, or the council, board or senate of the university, has control within the meaning of the Australian Accounting Standards.

university means a university listed under the heading New South Wales in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Higher Education Act 2001.

For the purposes of the Act, section 9(2)(a), a small fundraiser is authorised to conduct a fundraising appeal without being the holder of an authority.

In this section—

small fundraiser means an organisation or person that—

does not receive more than $15,000 gross in a financial year from any fundraising appeal the organisation or person conducts in the financial year, and

does not receive remuneration for conducting fundraising appeals, other than payment of lawful and proper expenses determined in accordance with section 14, and

only engages persons on a voluntary basis to participate in the fundraising appeal of the organisation or person.

For the purposes of the Act, section 9(2)(a), a parents and citizens association constituted in connection with a government school under the Education Act 1990, whether incorporated or not, is authorised to conduct a fundraising appeal without being the holder of an authority.

For the purposes of the Act, section 16(2)(i), the following matters are prescribed—

that neither the applicant nor another person associated with the proposed fundraising appeal has ever held an authority that was cancelled on a ground relating to fraud or dishonesty of the applicant or person,

that neither the applicant nor another person associated with the proposed fundraising appeal has a conviction in New South Wales or elsewhere for an offence involving fraud or dishonesty recorded in the last 10 years unless the Secretary determines the conviction should be ignored because of—

the time that has passed since the offence was committed, or

the triviality of the acts or omissions giving rise to the offence.

For the purposes of the Act, section 16(5), a person is not a fit and proper person in the following circumstances—

the person is a natural person or trustee who—

has, in the last 10 years, been found guilty of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in New South Wales or elsewhere, or

has been convicted of an offence against the Act or this Regulation, or

has become bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of a law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with the person’s creditors or makes an assignment of the person’s remuneration for the benefit of 1 or more of the person’s creditors, or

the person is a corporation and—

a person who is a director of the corporation or otherwise concerned in the management of the corporation would not be a fit and proper person under the Act or this Regulation, or

the corporation becomes insolvent, is placed in liquidation or under external administration or is wound up.

For the Act, section 19A(1)(g), the Secretary may suspend or cancel an authority held by a corporation if the corporation’s incorporation or registration as a corporation is suspended, cancelled or revoked.

For the purposes of the Act, section 19A(2)(a), the Secretary may, by written notice to the holder of an authority, suspend or cancel the authority if the Secretary is satisfied there are grounds to suspend or cancel the authority.

A notice suspending the authority must specify the following—

the date or time from which the suspension takes effect,

the grounds for the suspension,

the period of suspension.

A notice cancelling the authority must specify the following—

the date or time from which the cancellation takes effect,

the grounds for the cancellation.