Charities Amendment Act (No 2) 2012

1: Title
This Act is the Charities Amendment Act (No 2) 2012.
2: Commencement
This Act comes into force on 1 July 2012.
3: Principal Act amended
This Act amends the Charities Act 2005 2012-07-01 Charities Act 2005 Amendments to principal Act
4: Heading to Part 1 amended
The heading to Part 1 Charities Commission Preliminary matters and functions relating to charities
5: New section 3 substituted
Section 3
3: Purpose
The purpose of this Act is—
a: to promote public trust and confidence in the charitable sector:
b: to encourage and promote the effective use of charitable resources:
c: to provide for the registration of societies, institutions, and trustees of trusts as charitable entities:
d: to require charitable entities and certain other persons to comply with certain obligations:
e: to provide for the Board to make decisions about the registration and deregistration of charitable entities and to meet requirements imposed in relation to those functions:
f: to provide for the chief executive to carry out functions under this Act and to meet requirements imposed in relation to those functions.
6: Interpretation
1: The definition of Commission section 4(1)
2: Section 4(1) Board section 8 chief executive department
7: New heading and sections 8 to 12 substituted
Sections 8 to 12 Board and chief executive
8: Establishment, functions, duties, and powers of Board
1: A Board comprising 3 members appointed by the Minister is established.
2: The Minister must notify in the Gazette
a: the names of the members of the Board; and
b: the name of the chairperson of the Board.
3: The Board has the functions, duties, and powers relating to the registration and deregistration of charitable entities that are conferred or imposed on it by this Act.
4: In performing or exercising his or her functions, duties, or powers, each member of the Board—
a: must act independently in exercising his or her professional judgement; and
b: is not subject to direction from the Minister.
5: The Board must, subject to subsection (6) section 9
6: The chief executive must supply all secretarial and administrative services required to enable the Board to perform or exercise its functions, duties, and powers.
7: The Schedule
9: Board may delegate
1: The Board may, either generally or particularly and by resolution, delegate any of its functions, duties, or powers under this Act to—
a: the chief executive; or
b: any member of the Board.
2: If functions, duties, or powers are delegated to the chief executive under subsection (1)
a: the chief executive is not responsible to the Minister for the performance or exercise of those functions, duties, or powers but must act independently in exercising his or her professional judgement; and
b: the chief executive may delegate those functions or powers to employees or holders of specified offices in the department under section 41 of the State Sector Act 1988.
3: No delegation under subsection (1) or (2)﻿(b)
4: The Board must not make a delegation under this section unless satisfied that the delegation is consistent with section 8(5)
5: A person to whom any functions, duties, or powers are delegated may perform and exercise them in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this Act and not by delegation.
10: Functions of chief executive
The functions of the chief executive are—
a: to educate and assist charities in relation to matters of good governance and management, for example,—
i: by issuing guidelines or recommendations on the best practice to be observed by charities and by persons concerned with the management or administration of charities:
ii: by issuing model rules:
iii: by providing information to charities about their rights, duties, and obligations under this Act and other enactments; and
b: to make appropriate information available to assist persons to make applications for registration under this Act; and
c: to receive and process applications for registration as charitable entities; and
d: to refer to the Board for its decision all applications for registration as charitable entities and proposals for deregistration as charitable entities; and
e: to ensure that the register of charitable entities is compiled and maintained; and
f: to receive, consider, and process annual returns submitted by charitable entities; and
g: to supply information and documents in appropriate circumstances for the purposes of the Inland Revenue Acts; and
h: to monitor charitable entities and their activities to ensure that entities that are registered as charitable entities continue to be qualified for registration as charitable entities; and
i: to inquire into charitable entities and into persons who have engaged in, or are engaging in, conduct that constitutes, or may constitute, a breach of this Act or serious wrongdoing in connection with a charitable entity; and
j: to monitor and promote compliance with this Act, including by taking prosecutions for offences against this Act in appropriate circumstances; and
k: to stimulate and promote research into any matter relating to charities, for example,—
i: by collecting and disseminating information or research about charities:
ii: by advising on areas where further research or information about charities should be undertaken or collected:
iii: by entering into contracts or arrangements for research or information about charities to be undertaken or collected.
11: Status of entity does not affect performance of functions
1: The Board and the chief executive may perform functions to which this section applies in relation to any charity regardless of whether the charity is registered as a charitable entity.
2: This section applies to the functions of the Board and the chief executive that relate to—
a: the promotion of public trust and confidence in the charitable sector; or
b: the encouragement and promotion of the effective use of charitable resources; or
c: the provision of education and assistance to charities in relation to matters of good governance and management; or
d: the stimulation and promotion of research into any matter relating to charities.
12: Annual meeting with representatives of charitable entities
1: The chief executive must hold at least 1 meeting in each year with representatives of charitable entities.
2: At each meeting, the representatives of charitable entities who attend the meeting must be given a reasonable opportunity to—
a: ask questions concerning the operation of this Act; and
b: make submissions on the operation of this Act to the chief executive.
8: New Schedule added
The Schedule set out in Schedule 1 Provisions relating to disestablishment of Charities Commission
9: Disestablishment of Charities Commission
The Charities Commission is disestablished.
10: Compensation
No member of the Charities Commission is entitled to compensation for loss of office resulting from the disestablishment of the Commission.
11: Transfer of property and liabilities of Commission
On the commencement of this section,—
a: all real and personal property of the Charities Commission and all rights and liabilities of the Commission vest in the Crown; and
b: all proceedings pending by or against the Commission may be continued, completed, or enforced by or against the Crown; and
c: the Commission's work in progress may be carried on and completed by the chief executive or the Board.
12: Restriction of compensation for technical redundancy
1: An employee is not entitled to receive any payment or other benefit on the ground that his or her position in the Charities Commission has ceased to exist if—
a: the position ceases to exist as a result of a transfer of functions from the Commission to the chief executive; and
b: in connection with that transfer of functions,—
i: the employee is offered equivalent employment in the department (whether or not the employee accepts the offer); or
ii: the employee is offered, and accepts, other employment in the department.
2: In this section, equivalent employment
a: in substantially the same position; and
b: in the same general locality; and
c: on terms and conditions of employment that are no less favourable than those that apply to the employee immediately before the offer of equivalent employment (including any service-related, redundancy, and superannuation conditions); and
d: on terms that treat the period of service with the Commission (and any other period of service recognised by the Commission as continuous service) as if it were continuous service with the department.
3: This section overrides Part 6A
13: Application of collective agreements to employees
1: This section limits which employees may be bound by a collective agreement that binds the chief executive of the Charities Commission before a transfer of functions from the Commission to the chief executive of the department and that, as a consequence of section 11
2: After that transfer of functions, the only employees of the department who are entitled to be bound by or enforce the collective agreement are those employees who are appointed to a position in the department that has been established (whether or not previously existing in the Commission) to enable the chief executive to perform the transferred functions.
3: Subsection (2)
4: This section limits which employees may be bound by collective agreements (including collective employment contracts), and the coverage of those agreements, under sections 56(1) 57 62(3) 63(3) 243
5: This section does not apply to a collective agreement to the extent that the parties agree otherwise.
14: Superannuation
1: Any employee of the Charities Commission who, immediately before becoming an employee of the department, is a contributor to the Government Superannuation Fund under Part 2 2A
2: Subsection (1)
3: For the purpose of applying the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956
15: Other savings and transitional matters
1: The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, provide for savings and transitional matters connected with the disestablishment of the Charities Commission, including the transfer of functions formerly carried out by the Commission.
2: An order under this section is secondary legislation ( see Part 3 The following table is small in size and has 3 columns that are grouped under the heading Legislation Act 2019 requirements for secondary legislation made under this section. Legislation Act 2019 requirements for secondary legislation made under this section Publication PCO must publish it on the legislation website and notify it in the Gazette LA19 s 69(1)﻿(c) Presentation The Minister must present it to the House of Representatives LA19 s 114 cl 32(1)﻿(a) Disallowance It may be disallowed by the House of Representatives LA19 ss 115 116 This note is not part of the Act. Section 15(2) inserted 28 October 2021 section 3 Secondary Legislation Act 2021
16: Consequential amendments
1: The principal Act is amended in the manner indicated in Schedule 2
2: The Acts specified in Part 1
3: The Charities (Fees and Other Matters) Regulations 2006 Part 2 2012-07-01 Charities Amendment Act 2012 Crown Entities Act 2004 Major Events Management Act 2007 Ombudsmen Act 1975 Tax Administration Act 1994 Charities (Fees and Other Matters) Regulations 2006