Charities, Not-for-Profit and Philanthropy
Our team brings together experts dedicated to providing a market-leading service offering to the Charity, Not-for-Profit and Philanthropy (CNP) sector. Our practice is built on the foundations of technical expertise, an active involvement in the sector (including through individual involvement in governance roles with public and private philanthropic organisations) and a multi-disciplinary approach to provide a seamless service.
Our capability in this area includes:
- Establishment and tax advisory, including the establishment of charitable funds and institutions, obtaining federal and state tax and charity endorsements and registrations, and the provision of strategic advice regarding tax planning and ATO and ACNC compliance.
- Social and Affordable Housing, supporting the development of, and investment in, the social and affordable housing sector. We have a demonstrated track record in National Disability Insurance Scheme projects, including the Social and Affordable Housing Fund initiatives in NSW, the Big Housing Build in Victoria and financing through the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation.
- Commercial and Transactions, including strategic mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, tenders and procurement, intellectual property law, privacy law, IT contracting, organisational restructuring, significant asset acquisition or divestment and winding-up, and all insurance considerations relating to transactions.
- Corporate Advisory, ensuring compliance with relevant laws including corporate and commercial law, whistleblowers legislation, contracts and agreements, director and officer deeds of indemnity, corporate governance, preparing and advising on constitutions, ACNC governance standards, board and member issues, exits and disputes, employment and workplace relations and asset protection strategies.
- Corporate Affairs and Governance, covering the Corporations Act (including the formation and regulation of public companies limited by guarantee and the statutory obligations of directors), state law relating to incorporated and unincorporated associations and the fiduciary obligations of trustees, advising on annual general meetings, board policies, board training and induction, corporate governance reviews and board investigations.
- Private Client Advisory and Succession Planning, enabling private philanthropic giving and the establishment of a ‘living legacy’ during a person’s life and as part of their broader succession planning strategy, including by making provision for philanthropic gifts in their will.
- Investigations and dispute resolution, including representing organisations in ATO and ACNC investigations and commercial disputes.
- Employment, including entering and terminating employment arrangements and effective structuring of remuneration packages.
- Property, including leasing, property acquisition and disposal and dealing with planning, land use and valuation issues and disputes.
The competitive advantage of our CNP practice has been built on:
Technical depth and expertise: we take the CNP sector seriously and have invested in building technical expertise in CNP law and regulation. As a result, we have a thriving CNP practice with a track record of achieving successful outcomes for our CNP clients.
CNP organisation involvement: The key members of our CNP practice are personally involved as directors or trustees of CNP organisations. This personal involvement means we understand the unique dynamics of the CNP sector and what is important to decision-makers in the sector.
CNP sector involvement: The key members of our CNP practice have advocated on behalf of the CNP sector, in consultation with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO) (including on the development of the current Private Ancillary Fund regime). This involvement gives us a perspective across the sector and insight into the key legal and regulatory issues affecting it.
Trusted relationships with regulators: We have an intimate understanding of regulatory processes and experience dealing with the ACNC and the ATO in an effective and co-operative manner.
Board training and induction: Our tailored boardroom Beyond Compliance: Building better boards programs are designed to assist boards and executives with best practice corporate governance with a specific focus on keeping up to date with the constantly evolving regulatory environment. From director duties foundations and not-for-profit board training, board inductions, masterclasses and applied hypotheticals, to ongoing training to keep your governance and compliance knowledge up to date, we can tailor sessions to suit your board’s needs, current issues and budget.
Our recent experience includes:
- Acting for Australia’s largest community housing providers in relation to public-private partnership social housing projects.
- Assisting a major regional health organization with a complex fringe benefits tax matter, where we successfully petitioned the government to initiate an amendment to the FBT Act to correct a technical anomaly.
- Conducting a high-profile independent board investigation (including with respect to alleged director election related procedural misconduct) and subsequent corporate governance review project for a large charity.
- Representing a not-for-profit organisation in relation to financial discrepancies and historical non-compliance with regulatory requirements and its constituent documents.
- Acting as advisors for a transaction involving a joint venture project between private investors and a large Australian charity on an innovative social enterprise investment in the environment and conservation space.
- Advising on a restructure of an international charitable organisation with operations in Australia, Cambodia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
- Advising a not-for-profit fund manager on the establishment of a private equity fund designed to co-invest with essential services workers to help the essential workers to acquire an affordable metropolitan home.
- Advising on a transaction to amalgamate sixteen charitable trusts under a single trustee.
- Advising an educational institution on a unique and innovative public-private partnership model for the funding of the development of an educational facility and a property acquisition.
- Advising a member-based business and industry association on its corporate governance and ACNC compliance, and undertaking a major corporate governance review and restructure project.
- Advising and representing six prominent Victorian charitable trusts in obtaining private rulings to confirm their entitlement to exemption from income tax and payroll tax.
- Advising on the commercial and tax (including land tax and stamp duty) implications of the divestment of assets by a prominent not-for-profit industry association, with capital proceeds to be re-deployed into replacement assets to diversify its investment exposure and to fund an expansion of its activities.
- Advising and establishing innovative public charities, including public benevolent institutions operating place-based social collaboration models and Australia’s first pride centre and queer museum.
