Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

This relates to the amendment circulating in Senator Faruqi's name, on sheet 3646. The government won't be supporting this amendment, and I'll briefly take you through why.

There is no DGR category or purpose that allows charities to support illegal activities at home or abroad. Registered charities already must ensure that they meet their ongoing obligations to the ACNC, including by complying with the ACNC's governance standards, and the ACNC's governance standards require a charity to remain charitable, operate lawfully and be run in an accountable and responsible way.

Charities that operate overseas, including giving funds, must also comply with the ACNC's external conduct standards. These standards require charities to take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate standards of behaviour, governance, oversight and record keeping when undertaking activities or providing resources overseas. The governance standards require charities to comply with all Australian law, including the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 or hate speech legislation that has passed. The external conduct standards also require a charity to comply with Australian law as it relates to international sanctions, terrorism financing and slavery or slavery-like conditions, and to have reasonable procedures to ensure compliance with those laws. The external conduct standards do not extend to conduct under international law.

Governance and external conduct standards also require a charity to ensure its resources are only used to further its purpose and that it is operating in a way consistent with a not-for-profit entity. Charity registration can be revoked by the ACNC where the governance and external conduct standards are not met. Where a charity's registration is revoked, the ATO may also remove its access to DGR status and other tax concessions. I would also say to Senator Allman-Payne that, if there are charities that she is concerned about and that she doesn't believe meet those standards, I would urge her or her colleagues to make that known to the ACNC.