Many charities, particularly smaller ones, are being stressed and overwhelmed by the reporting standards introduced in 2015 says a charity law specialist Sue Barker.
Last year an audit of about 1000 charities over six months by the Department of Internal Affairs has found only 59 percent have complied.
In a RNZ report last year Barker said the non-compliance was “alarming” and charities needed to take the requirement seriously.
“It’s a governance issue. You have to meet these new requirements.”
“Otherwise you actually are breaching the Charities Act and that could put your charitable registration at risk.”
Volunteering New Zealand said charities needed more support to help them meet the new reporting standards.
Its chief executive, Scott Miller, said there was a massive learning curve.
The Department of Internal Affairs head of charities services, Lesa Kalapu, said she was comfortable with the response so far.
“We’re pleased that about half of them have filed [correctly], but we would expect that number to increase as we go along.”
Kalapu said the department would review the programme in June and decide then whether changes are required.
The Department of Internal Affairs has produced more than 20 resources for the reporting standards as well as running workshops and online seminars.
But Labour’s Poto Williams said the government has dropped the ball.
“The government has set the standards, but the government also has a requirement to make sure that the NGOs are assisted to meet those standards.”
She questioned whether the compliance ts were set too high for “ordinary decent charities”.
“The number seems to suggest that there’s a whole lot of misappropriation going on and I just know that that’s not the case. So it would suggest that… the settings are wrong.”
Source
- radionz.co.nz
- Image: charities.govt.nz
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