In the 2021/22 Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Outlook it was announced that a new deductible gift recipient (DGR) general category for pastoral care would be established.

It is not clear whether the National School Chaplaincy Programme (NSCP) will be affected by the introduction of this new deductible gift recipient (DGR) category. The current NSCP agreement expires at the end of 2022.

Encouraging pastoral care through provision of a tax deduction for donations is likely to be less equitable and less transparent than direct government expenditure.  

CA ANZ broadly supports the proposed implementation design. However, the high-level approach to drafting the proposed legislation means that much of detail, which could be controversial, will be left to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to interpret. 

Extensive consultation regarding proposed ATO guidance material on this topic is needed, particularly in regarding key concepts such as:

• What is pastoral care? 
• When are pastoral care services provided to a non-student directly linked to pastoral care provided to a student? 
• What is an appropriately qualified worker? 
• How far does school environment extend? 

In keeping with the ATO’s current project to improve public advice and guidance, CA ANZ argues consultation with the ATO about these issues should be conducted contemporaneously with the implementation design phase.