CA ANZ and CPA Australia have lodged a joint submission to the consultation on regulatory amendments to supplement the revised laws applying to Queensland’s incorporated associations. These revised laws, implemented by the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020, introduce a range of important internal governance reforms, some of which came into force in 2020 while others commenced in June 2022. They also impose new related party disclosure requirements and grievance procedures which will begin in 2023.  Importantly, they also exempt almost 4,000 of Queensland’s ACNC registered charities from compliance with state reporting requirements if they comply with ACNC requirements, a significant reduction in red tape that took effect from 29 July 2022.

The regulations consultation sought input on the detailed nature of the related party disclosures and on the financial reporting requirements to be imposed on incorporated associations that are not ACNC registered charities. In its response, CA ANZ and CPA Australia have recommended that the ACNC reporting thresholds should also apply to such incorporated associations in the interests of promoting nationally consistent and proportionate reporting regulations for all NFP entities. It also recommended Australian Accounting Standards (AAS), specifically AASB 124 Related Parties, be used to underpin the new requirements for disclosure of related party information and that the requirements also be aligned with those to be introduced by the ACNC as much as possible.  

The submission also noted more broadly that the current legislative reporting framework is not underpinned by requirements to apply AAS and recommended that this situation be addressed to further promote transparency and consistency in reporting. It also encouraged the Queensland government to become an active participant in the AASB’s NFP financial reporting framework reform project, which is nearing its public consultation phase. The release of the new Tier 3 accounting standard could represent an opportune time for the Queensland government to review its legislation and regulations to ensure suitable incorporated associations are eligible to apply this standard in preparing their financial statements.