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‘Policy work in charities is not always valued, but if we are to make sustainable changes in people’s lives, the economic, regulatory and political structures that drive both good and bad practice need to be addressed. When we think about charities and not-for-profits in Australia and the role they play, we should never underestimate the importance of the leaders in our sector who call out and stand up to inappropriate and exploitative practices. The buffer they bravely provide against much more powerful vested interests is a critical component in preserving our democracy and enabling us to achieve the kind of Australia we would like to live in,’ writes CCA CEO David Crosbie for the Community Advocate.

‘We can all enjoy our tech but still insist on guardrails and limits around companies and what they promote and profit from.’ As charities and community groups, we have a critical role to play in shaping what a changed world looks like, writes CCA CEO David Crosbie for the Community Advocate.

There is no Department of Charities in the federal government, no red book, no blue book for an incoming minister prepared by a team of diligent public servants. In fact, there are no public servants employed by the federal government to monitor or look after the effectiveness and capacity of the charity sector, nobody monitoring our economic and social contribution to communities, writes CCA CEO David Crosbie for the Community Advocate.

“Why do we continue to support the lack of data symmetry in the sector’s relationship with government and other funders? Maybe we start a ‘You show me your data, and I’ll show you mine!’ campaign?” CCA CEO David Crosbie writes for the Community Advocate on evaluation, impact measurement and access to data.

Neither the government nor the ATO have in any way acknowledged the findings of the Senate Economics Reference Committee that the implementation of this flawed policy (new reporting requirements for NFPs) is a major burden on many small volunteer-run NFPs and is not working, writes CCA CEO David Crosbie.

Charities and not-for-profits aren’t front and centre of the growing public discourse about a productivity reform agenda, but that shouldn’t stop us from offering a few possibilities that might make a difference to the kind of Australia we live in writes CCA CEO David Crosbie for the Community Advocate.