We can impose conditions on the registration of fundraisers at the time of registration, or at any time during the period of registration, where there are grounds for concern. We impose conditions in order to promote public confidence in fundraising and to protect the public interest.
Conditions imposed at the time of registration can also be varied or removed during the period of registration.
We will inform you in writing of any proposed conditions and give you 14 days to make a submission commenting on the proposed conditions.
There are penalties for failing to comply with an imposed condition.
Case-by-case and special conditions
We can impose conditions on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the public interest and all the circumstances. Examples include:
- the requirement to distribute all, or a certain proportion of the proceeds of fundraising by a specified time
- applying a special condition in order to grant registration that might otherwise have been refused.
If less than 50 per cent of funds will go to beneficiaries
If you estimate that less than 50 per cent of fundraising proceeds will be distributed to beneficiaries, your registration will be subject to a public disclosure condition, which will apply to all fundraising activities it conducts.
For example, if you estimate that 40 per cent of funds raised will go to the nominated beneficiary, you might be registered with the condition that you:
- tell prospective donors, either in person or in writing, ‘the fundraiser estimates that 40 per cent of funds donated to the fundraiser will be distributed to beneficiaries’
- clearly label all products offered for sale in the same way.
It should be noted that many factors can influence the proportion of fundraising distributed to beneficiaries. The Director will consider these factors, and does not apply a strict rule regarding distribution but emphasises the following two issues:
- The public disclosure condition is designed to ensure prospective donors understand the proportion of their donation that will go to the beneficiary. It should not discourage you from distributing more than the estimated percentage if you can.
- The expectation is that the maximum amount possible will be distributed to the beneficiary. Remember, that the actual amount distributed by the fundraiser during the registration period will be recorded on the public register of Victorian fundraisers.
The percentage of proceeds can be averaged over all activities during the registration period.
If less than 35 per cent of funds will go to beneficiaries
If you estimate that less than 35 per cent of fundraising proceeds will be distributed to the beneficiaries, we will ask you to ‘show cause’ why you should be registered.
Examples of the types of information you can provide to show cause include:
- the nature and type of the appeal (for example, a fundraising dinner will have higher administration costs than a door-knock appeal)
- the reasonableness of the administration costs of the appeal
- the size of the appeal (for example, 35 per cent of a large appeal could provide significant benefit to the beneficiaries)
- the maturity of the appeal (for example, a fundraising organisation in an establishment phase might have higher initial administration costs).
The registration will not proceed until we are satisfied that the proposed fundraising activity is in the public interest.
For more information, view Fundraising beneficiaries.
Fundraising registration guidelines
The Fundraising registration guidelines were gazetted in the Victorian Government Gazette on 16 July 2009.
Essential information in the guidelines has been incorporated into the relevant fundraising pages of this website.
To see the gazetted copy, download the Fundraising registration guidelines (PDF, 341KB).