The Public Sector Innovation Awards has announced the ACNC as a finalist in the Digital Transformation category.

This category recognises initiatives that demonstrate the spirit of digital transformation, including providing better and easier services and interactions with citizens. This national award is run by the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA).

The ACNC’s Charity Portal is one of three innovations up for the award which will be announced on 27 July 2016 during Innovation Month.

The Charity Portal was launched in November 2013 as a self-service digital interface to reduce the burden of paperwork faced by Australia’s 53,000 registered charities.

ACNC Acting Commissioner David Locke said the ACNC was a digital-by-default agency and set the portal up as the first step towards delivering a “one stop shop” online service.

“The Portal enables charities to interact with the ACNC, complete their mandatory reporting and update their public information quickly and easily,” Locke said.

“This service will ultimately allow charities to report information only once to government and this information will be shared with other government agencies where required, significantly reducing the reporting burden on charities.

“The ACNC has always been committed to providing easy and simple digital solutions as the primary type of interaction for the charity sector and we are proud to have this recognised.”

Locke said the ACNC will continue to make updates and additions to the portal based on feedback from the sector to ensure the online services support charities.