News

‘Community organisations are tired of jumping through bureaucratic hoops that provide no useful information and serve no useful purpose. Despite the fact that the not-for profit sector contributes $43 billion to Australia’s economy, the needs of the sector have largely been ignored by governments in the past,’ according to David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council of Australia.

‘The organisations Australians rely on in times of crisis will now be able to get government assistance to repair and re-establish their own organisations as well as support the communities around them,’ according to David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council for Australia.

Until yesterday, disaster recovery grants and concessional loan programs put in place to support Queensland small business and primary producers had excluded not-for profit organisations.

Community organisations are critical in rebuilding flood ravaged regions of Australia, yet, programs put in place to support recovery often exclude not-for profit organisations from receiving assistance. ‘Who decided that not-for profit organisations are less deserving of support for rebuilding and recovery within flood ravaged communities than businesses and primary producers?’ asks CCA CEO David Crosbie.

Australian taxpayers support many community and other not-for-profit (NFP) organisations. The activities of these organisations have considerable social impact and touch the lives of many Australians, including some of the most disadvantaged members of the community. In this context, the Community Council for Australia (CCA) engaged Access Economics to examine tax concession arrangements applying to community organisations and to identify directions for reform.