Upcoming events
Save the date(s) - more information and registration links coming soon:
Thursday 27 July 2023, Melbourne and online
We're delighted to announce that Corrs Chambers Westgarth will be kindly hosting our annual conference again this year. Thank you for the support.ACNC Regulators' Day
Friday 28 July, 2023, Melbourne and online
Join us for this discussion following the conference and AGM.
Past events
CLAANZ Annual Lecture & third John Emerson AM Oration 2022
12 December 2022, 5.30 - 6.30pm (AEST), Melbourne and online
The Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand hosted the CLAANZ Annual Lecture and the third John Emerson AM Oration in Melbourne on 12 December 2022, jointly with the Law Council of Australia Legal Practice Section's Charities and Not-for-Profit Committee.
The Oration was delivered by Professor Oonagh Breen and co-chaired by Seak-King Huang, Chair of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Committee, and Associate Professor Ian Murray, Chair of the Board of CLAANZ. The Oration focussed on reviews of charity regulation that have taken place recently in many jurisdictions (including Australia and New Zealand) to learn from key themes on:
- 'Watch outs' at each stage of the review process.
- Similarities and differences between statutory and non-statutory reviews.
- 'Nuts that get cracked' in reviews and those harder 'too hot to handle potato' issues that may be sidelined.
- Key contributions by lawyers in the process of reform and areas where their input is always necessary.
In promoting its objective of charity law education, CLAANZ holds an Annual Public Lecture, which is open to anyone with an interest in charity law and the not-for-profit sector. The Annual Lecture addresses key, contemporary legal issues in the charity and not-for-profit sectors in Australia and New Zealand.
The 2022 event was held in person at Herbert Smith Freehills in Melbourne, with the option to attend online.
A recording of the annual lecture and oration can be viewed here.
CLAANZ Annual Conference: Charity Law Regulation in Australia and New Zealand - 10 Years on
Friday July 29 2022, 9.00am - 5.00pm (AEST), Melbourne and online
CLAANZ held its annual conference in Melbourne and online on 29 July 2022. CLAANZ is grateful for the support of Arnold Bloch Leibler in hosting the face to face option for this event at their firm and for providing technical support for the event.
More information, including recordings of each conference session, is available here.
2022 ACNC Regulators Day
Thursday July 28 2022, Melbourne and online
The 2022 ACNC Regulators Day focussed on the ACNC's regulation of charities over the past year, the impact of regulation generally on Australia charities and opportunities for the future.
CLAANZ Webinar: Attorney General v Family First New Zealand [2022] NZSC 80: Implications for advocacy by charities and the Charities Act
Thursday 14 July 2022, 3pm - 4pm (NZ Time) 1pm - 2pm (AEST) 11am - 12pm (AWT), Online
CLAANZ held its second webinar for 2022: Attorney General v Family First New Zealand [2022] NZSC 80: Implications for advocacy by charities and the Charities Act. On 28 June 2022, the Supreme Court of New Zealand delivered its decision in Attorney General v Family First New Zealand [2022] NZSC 80 ("Family First"), holding that Family First was not eligible for charitable registration, bringing to a conclusion a process that has lasted for more than a decade. If changes announced by the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector on 2 June 2022 go ahead, this may be the last time the Supreme Court of New Zealand has the opportunity to hear a Charities Act appeal.
Jennifer Batrouney AM QC, who acted pro bono for the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand as intervener, Peter Gunn, who was lead counsel for the Attorney-General, and Sue Barker, pro bono solicitor for the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, discussed the case and its implications. Kate Davenport QC, who also acted pro bono for the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, chaired the discussion.
Presenters: Jennifer Batrouney AM QC (Victorian Bar), Peter Gunn (New Zealand Crown Law), Sue Barker (Director, Sue Barker Charities Law).
Chair: Kate Davenport QC (New Zealand Bar).
A recording of the webinar can be accessed here.
CLAANZ Webinar: What does a World-Leading Framework of Charities Law Look Like? Reflections on New Zealand Charities Law Reform
Date and Time: Thursday 19 May 2022, 3.00pm - 4.00pm (NZ Time) 1.00pm - 2.00pm (AEST) 11.00am - 12.00pm (AWT), Online
CLAANZ held its first webinar for 2022 on 19 May. It discussed the report "What does a world-leading framework of charities law look like?" which has just been released in fulfilment of the New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau ā Taiao. The report makes 70 recommendations, including that the review of the Charities Act 2005 is transferred to an independent body, such as the New Zealand Law Commission, for an independent, first principles (and ideally multi-disciplinary) review taking into account the wider legal framework applicable to charities. The report draws on the experience of comparable jurisdictions and aims to shine light on some of the underlying assumptions and unintended consequences that are causing considerable current difficulty in this area of law in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Presenter: Sue Barker (Director, Sue Barker Charities Law)
Chair: Dr Andrew Butler (Barrister and Chair of the New Zealand Law Foundation Te Manatū a Ture o Aotearoa).
A recording of the webinar can be accessed here.
2022 Journal of Equity Conference: Equity. Charity and Governance
Date and Time: Friday 1 April 2022, 12.30pm - 6.30pm (AEDT), Online
CLAANZ supported event: John Emerson Oration 2021
Tuesday 30 November 2021, 5.30pm - 7.00pm (AEDT), Melbourne and onlineCLAANZ supported the second John Emerson AM Oration, hosted by the Charities and Not-For-Profit Committee of the Legal Practice Section of the Law Council of Australia. The Oration was delivered by Professor Ann O’Connell (Melbourne Law School and Senior Member, Administrative Appeals Tribunal) and chaired by Seak-King Huang, Chair of the Not-for-Profit and Legal Practice and Charities Committee, Legal Practice Section.
Global Citizen and ACNC – Public Benevolent Institution Decision
29 September 2021
The AAT determined that a charity can be a public benevolent institution (with a purpose of relieving poverty) where that charity pursues its purpose by way of a holistic range of education, advocacy and lobbying activities designed to elicit financial commitments and policy changes from governments and philanthropists. This represented a large shift from the current practice.
CLAANZ 2021 conference: Government and the Sector
5 August 2021 – online in Australia, and with nodes in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand
NFP Researcher Network - Research Engagement Panel Discussion
CLAANZ online seminar on illegal activities
Tuesday 9 March 2021
CLAANZ is delighted to invite you to a webinar dealing with the current proposal to amend the ACNC regulations in respect of illegal activities. Hear from sector leaders and experts about this important and topical issue. Speakers will include Tim Costello, Myles McGregor-Lowndes, Murray Baird, and Murray Wesson. Find out more
CLAANZ End of Year Celebratory Event
17 December 2020
CLAANZ marked two significant events for the Charity and NFP sector: the retirement of Professor Fiona Martin from her academic position at UNSW, and celebrated the publication of Professor Ann O’Connell’s landmark book, Taxation of Charities and Not-for-Profits. Find out more.
CLAANZ webinar: Marilyn Warren AC QC in conversation with Jennifer Batrouney AM QC
Charity Law, Accounting, and Regulation Conference 2020: Responding to COVID-19 – how might we #buildbackbetter?
Online conference
Wednesday 4 November 2020
This half day webinar will have a special focus on the sector in New Zealand, and an emphasis on how to rebuild the sector after the pandemic and its aftermath. Find out more here.
Webinar: Charity Advocacy: Recent DevelopmentsThursday 1 October 2020
Webinar: Charity Law and Charities: Responding to Crises
Thursday 30 July
The years 2019 to 2020 have seen a series of crises, from bushfires in Australia and mosque shootings in New Zealand to the COVID-19 global pandemic. These crises pose challenges for charities and for charity law. This webinar engages with some of those key challenges through a series of short presentations arranged in two parts: (1) Crises and Fundraising: The Questions Not Asked in the Celeste Barber/New South Wales Rural Fire Service Case; (2) Operational Challenges in Crises. Find out more here
John Emerson AM Oration
2019 CLAANZ Annual Public Lecture
Faith, hope, and charity – religion as a public benefit in modern Australia
Presented by the Hon Justice Sarah Derrington
28 November 2019, Melbourne Law School
This year the CLAANZ annual public lecture was delivered by the Hon Justice Sarah Derrington, the President of the Australian Law Reform Commission. The lecture was held at Melbourne Law School. Justice Sarah Derrington is the President of the Australian Law Reform Commission. Find out more here. The Australian Law Reform Commission has published a copy of Justice Derrington's paper, which is available here.
Public Benefit conference
29 November 2019, Melbourne Law School
2019 CLAANZ conference, Melbourne
Why and How We Value the Charity Sector
1 August 2019
The 2019 CLAANZ Conference, Why and How We Value the Charity Sector, will be held in Melbourne on Thursday 1 August 2018. The conference will be at the Woodward Conference Centre at the University of Melbourne, followed by a dinner also at the Woodward Conference Centre. Find out more here.
2019 New Zealand CLAANZ conference
The Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ), in conjunction with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and supported by DIA Charities Services hosted Future prospects for charity law, accounting, and regulation conference in Wellington, New Zealand on 11 and 12 April 2019. Find out more here.Regulation and the Contemporary Not-for-profit: A Summit
Featuring CLAANZ Annual Keynote Lecture by the Hon Robert French AC
Monday 26 November 2018
In this inaugural NFP UWA Research Group symposium, industry and academics convened to consider the regulatory framework impacting NFPs and charities. The summit involved presentations and roundtables, including the inaugural Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ) annual keynote lecture, which was delivered by the Hon Robert French AC.
New NFPs UWA Report: Regulation of the Contemporary Not-for-profit
Commissioned by the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, supported by the UWA Public Policy Institute and UWA Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, the report synthesises and analyses themes from discussions and presentations at a recent summit on NFP regulation. The summit included the inaugural CLAANZ keynote lecture by the Hon Robert French AC. Key themes are the need for a national scheme for NFP regulation, need for red tape reduction and need to focus the ACNC’s second object on supporting the sector.
The report can be downloaded here and further information about NFPs UWA is available here.
The 2018 CLAANZ Conference, Charity Law: What does the future hold?, was held in Melbourne on Thursday 2 August 2018 at the Woodward Conference Centre at the University of Melbourne, followed by a dinner also at the Woodward Conference Centre. On 3 August, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) kindly invited conference delegates to join them for a day of discussions on charity regulation. Find out more here.
2018 New Zealand CLAANZ Conference
The Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ), in conjunction with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ)and Parry Field, hosted Perspectives on Charities Law and Regulation in New Zealand conference in Wellington, New Zealand on 26 and 27 April 2018. Find out more here.