On the 19 March the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Josh Frydenberg introduced three omnibus bills as part of the repeal day package including:
- a Bill for an Act to repeal certain Acts and provisions of Acts and to make various amendments of the statute law of the Commonwealth, and for related purposes. (Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2014) Bill 2014 );
- an Act to repeal certain Acts, and for related purposes. (Amending Acts 1901 to 1969 Repeal Bill 2014);
- a Bill for an Act to make various amendments of the statute law of the Commonwealth, to repeal certain obsolete Acts, and for related purposes. (Statute Law Revision Bill (No. 1) 2014). The Repeal Day Bills will be debated in Parliament on 26 March.
As part of the introduction of Repeal Day legislation, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said an independent regulator had not proved to be the best use of government funding. “Repealing the Commission will remove unnecessary regulatory control over the civil sector, and move instead towards Commonwealth support for the sector to self-manage,” he said.
“The repeal is consistent with the broader deregulation agenda to boost productivity by removing any excessive, unnecessary and overly complex red and green tape imposed on business, community organisations and individuals. This Bill will repeal the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, thereby abolishing the Commission.”
However, he said that the Bill would not take effect until the enactment of a later Bill, which would provide the details of the successful agency that will replace the Commission.
The community Council for Australia (with 54 charities as signatories) has written an open letter to the Prime Minister regarding the proposed abolition of the ACNC.
“Dear Prime Minister
We want to make it very clear to the Commonwealth Government and wider community that like most charities across Australia, we value the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, and we want to see it continue its impressive work.
The launch of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission in 2012 was a major step forward in creating a regulatory environment that works for the not-for-profit sector rather than against it. In little over one year of operation, the ACNC has built a strong positive reputation by establishing the first public national register of charities, registering more than 2,600 new charities, responding to over 70,000 requests for information from charities and the broader community, investigating and resolving over 200 complaints against charities, and monitoring the extent of red tape and level of public trust and confidence in our charities. The ACNC has done what few new regulators achieve – gained widespread support across the sector it is regulating. …..The vital work of the ACNC must be maintained, for the benefit of charities, not-for-profits and the many communities they serve.”
The full letter can be viewed here.
Further details can be obtained here.