2. Fundraising for charitable purposes

Fundraising for charitable purposes in Western Australia is regulated by the Charitable Collections Act 1946. If the charitable fundraising involves a street appeal, then the Street Collections (Regulation) Act 1940 also applies. The Minister for Consumer Protection administers these Acts through the Charitable Collections Advisory Committee, which in turn operates in conjunction with Commerce.

2.1 What are the requirements for fundraising?

Your association will need a charitable collections licence if:

• the purpose of its fundraising falls within the definition of charitable purpose under the Charitable Collections Act 1946;
• it intends to collect or obtain money or goods (such as aluminium cans or used furniture or clothing); and
• it intends to collect from the public (a collection amongst association members or from fellow workers does not require a licence).

The following activities are considered to be a collection under the Charitable Collections Act 1946 and require a licence:

• the sale of items such as badges, flowers, tokens or any other device for any charitable purpose;
• charging an entrance fee for functions (such as sports events, fêtes, and concerts) where it is implied that any part of the fee will be applied to a charitable purpose; or
• advertising a function where it is implied that any part of the proceeds will be donated to a charitable purpose.

2.2 How does an association obtain a licence?

Technically, an association applies to the Minister for Consumer Protection for permission to fundraise, and the Minister refers the application to the Charitable Collections Advisory Committee. In practice, however, the application is lodged with the Charities Coordinator at Commerce and the Committee then makes its recommendations in regard to licensing. There is no fee required for a licence.

An application may take up to eight weeks to be processed. A licence is normally issued for three years and may be renewed.

2.3 Reporting requirements

Licensees are required to submit audited financial reports to the Committee at the end of their financial year. The reports must contain detailed information about the money or goods collected and the way they were distributed.

2.4 Code of Conduct

A voluntary Code of Conduct for public fundraising has been developed by Commerce. It provides helpful guidelines to fundraisers on how to conduct fundraising in a responsible and accountable manner.