Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Faruqi for moving the amendments to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Again, I understand that Senator Shoebridge made similar comments when this was last in committee that Senator Gallagher responded to, but the government will be opposing these amendments. Certain animal welfare organisations are already eligible for DGR endorsement under the existing DGR general categories. For example, organisations with the principal purpose of short-term direct care or rehabilitation of animals—such as the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service and Wildlife Recovery Australia—are endorsed as DGRs. Certain animal welfare organisations have also been specifically listed in the tax law as DGRs. For example, the RSPCA and each of its state and territory affiliates is specifically listed in the tax law. They treat, protect and rehome animals, and they empower and educate communities to improve animal welfare across the country.

In 2023, the Albanese government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a review of philanthropy to identify opportunities and obstacles to increase philanthropic giving. The PC was independent in undertaking this review, and its final report made several findings and recommendations, including that reforms to the DGR system should be introduced to create fairer and more consistent outcomes for donors, charities and the community. The PC found that the complexity of the system continues to increase as 'new DGR endorsement categories are added in a piecemeal manner'. The government announced in the 2024-25 MYEFO that it would initially implement the following recommendations from the Productivity Commission's final report Future foundations for giving: removing the condition that a gift to a deductable gift recipient be valued at $2 or more before the donor may claim a tax deduction, which was recommendation 4.1; aligning and increasing the minimum annual redistribution rate for public and private ancillary funds, to be renamed giving funds, which was recommendation 8.1; and allowing funds distribution to be smoothed over three years, which was recommendation 8.2.

The government continues to consider its response to the PC report's recommendations on DGR reform. We have worked through these reforms with careful consideration, and we will continue to be guided by the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's Future foundations for giving and the sector led Not-for-profit Sector Development Blueprint as we work to double giving in Australia. Alongside these commitments, we've been working methodically to reform Australia's DGR system and support our charities. We have streamlined the DGR system by returning four key categories to the ATO; created the new 'community charity' category to encourage more local and place based giving and broaden the pool of regular Australian donors, given the charities commissioner greater discretion to comment on compliance activity; and expanded the ACNC advisory board to be more representative of the sector and to strengthen the network of charity regulators across the Commonwealth and the states and territories.