Federal Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews pointed out that the open letter, submitted by the Community Council for Australia on behalf of a number of charities, had been signed by only 54 individuals who could not be considered representative of the more than 600,000 not-for-profits (NFPs) that make up the sector.

“I have had ongoing consultations with major stakeholders and have heard overwhelming evidence that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) needs to go,” said Andrews. “The Coalition Government made an election commitment to abolish the ACNC and that is what we will do.”

Andrews defended the Government’s plan to reinstate the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in place of the ACNC. “As the regulator of every Australian taxpayer, the ATO is more than capable of overseeing the work of charities – it’s done it before, it can do it again.”

He also referred to the failings of overseas charity regulators, stating that the New Zealand Government had abolished its own regulator, and that the United Kingdom’s Charities Commission has been criticised by its National Audit Office as “not regulating charities effectively” and “not delivering value for money”.

“The previous Labor Government’s ACNC increased the red-tape on civil society and made life harder, not easier for the sector,” said Andrews. “We believe that the role of government is to support civil society, not to control it or bind it in more red tape.”

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill 2014 (Cth) was presented to the House of Representatives last week and is yet to be debated. A second Bill detailing the arrangements replacing the ACNC is intended to be tabled in the winter parliamentary sitting in June and July this year.