Over the coming months the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the independent national regulator of charities, will be delivering a series of free webinars. The webinars will be held monthly and will cover a range of topics to support charities registered with the ACNC. They include an overview of the topic, practical examples and a Q&A session. The first webinar was held on 12 March and helped the 30 participants better understand the ACNC’s governance standards.

The next webinar, scheduled for 20 April 2015, will help charities manage their obligations to the ACNC via the online Charity Portal. Other topics scheduled for later in the year are likely to include:

• Managing your charity through the ACNC Charity Portal
  
• Reporting to the ACNC – the Annual Information Statement
  
• Meeting the governance standards
  
• What to do before applying to be a registered charity
  
• Obligations of newly registered charities, and
  
• The roles and responsibilities of new charity board members.
  

ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AM, said that the series of webinars was part of the ACNC’s broader approach to helping charities understand their obligations, aimed at ensuring those in more remote areas could also have the opportunity to learn more and ask questions. “This is an exciting, new way for charities to interact with the ACNC,” Ms Pascoe said. “Webinars are an easy way for people across the country to communicate directly with ACNC staff and ask questions in real time. Since the establishment of the ACNC, we have been committed to providing education, guidance and advice to help registered charities comply with their obligations. The series of webinars builds on the Facebook sessions we have run in the past and complements the existing web content, factsheets, guides, podcasts, and videos produced by the ACNC to date. These webinars are free to attend, but places may be limited, so please register your interest for upcoming events as soon as possible. We are also interested to know which topics would be of most interest to charities, so we can respond to need.”

Charities can find more information, register their interest for upcoming sessions, or watch the 12 March session at acnc.gov.au/webinars.