The Government has released for public consultation a discussion paper on development of governance standards for charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and draft regulations on the new ACNC financial reporting framework.

Final standards are expected to commence on 1 July 2013.

The standards will apply to registered charities, excepting basic religious charities. Charities will need to comply with these standards to be, and remain, registered with the ACNC. The governance standards are intended to reflect a minimum set of outcomes for registered charities.

The six draft governance standards cover:
• purposes and NFP character of a charity;
• accountability to members (for those charities with members);
• compliance with Australian laws;
• responsible management of financial affairs;
• suitability of responsible entities; and
• duties of responsible entities.