The ACNC revised our Governance for Good publication earlier this year, available now on the ACNC website.
The guide describes governance as the processes, activities and relationships that make sure your charity is effectively and properly run. The principles of good governance in charities apply, regardless of the legal structure adopted by a charity. It is not true to say that adopting a more sophisticated legal structure such as a Company Limited by Guarantee leads to better governance.
Whatever the legal structure, every charity must meet the ACNC Governance Standards. The standards are applied as a set of principles rather than prescriptive rules, meaning that a charity can choose how to comply – as long as it can demonstrate that the approach is appropriate to the charity’s situation. And that applies to whether the charity operates as an unincorporated association, an incorporated association, a trust, a company or other legal structure.
For more information about governance, click here.