Charities need to ensure they keep their eye on the ball and
avoid getting distracted by the debate surrounding the Department
of Internal Affairs' Modernising the Charities Act 2005
Discussion Document, which was released in February 2019.
Since its release, the Discussion Document has faced its fair
share of criticism. Critics have been calling for an overhaul of
the Act for quite some time and there is a valid argument that the
issues identified in the Discussion Document are too narrow and do
not permit a broader discussion.
While there may be some basis to this criticism, it doesn't
change that fact that any reforms to the issues that are addressed
in the Discussion Document could have a major impact on the
charitable sector - especially established charities. If charities
don't engage on the issues that are included in the review,
there is a real risk that the resulting law reform could catch them
out. Charities should therefore ensure they make submissions on
