The Treasury has released a consultation paper ‘Giving fund reforms: distribution rate and smoothing’, as part of its broader strategy to double charitable giving by 2030.

While these reforms aim to boost philanthropy, there are concerns that raising the minimum distribution rate could undermine the long-term sustainability of Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs), also known as Giving Funds (the Funds). These Funds were originally established to provide long term charitable support.

Our feedback on Giving Fund reforms

In response to these concerns, we have submitted feedback on the 31 July 2025, on behalf of our clients to Treasury’s consultation process.

Heather Dyke, Associate Director, expresses that

“Philanthropy is very important for many of our private clients. Most of our large private clients have set up Private Ancillary Funds (to be known as Giving Funds) to provide much needed long-term funding to charities.”

We are actively involved in the consultation process and represent our clients’ interests, with our Directors also serving on the boards of several Giving Funds, offering valuable insight into their investment and giving strategies.

Background

The Government has previously committed to working with the philanthropic, for-purpose, and business sectors to develop a national giving strategy.

What are the changes?

Following the introduction of a new Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) category for Community Foundations, the government announced it would also improve the support provided to charities through Funds by:

• aligning and increasing the minimum annual distribution rate for public and private funds
• allowing funds to smooth their minimum annual distributions over three years, and
• renaming Private Ancillary Funds in the tax law to Giving Funds to reflect their role in giving to charities.

Drawbacks of raising minimum distribution rate

The key message from our feedback is that a 5% minimum distribution rate should be maintained. A higher distribution rate may decrease the attractiveness of Giving Funds to donors and impact the long-term sustainability of perpetual funds.

As the minimum distribution rate is not a cap, our clients generally provide regular distributions to charities at the minimum rate and extra distributions for capital works, special projects or when natural disasters occur. If the minimum rate is increased, then smoothing becomes very important and could be overly complex to monitor.

Our full submission to the Giving Fund consultation can be found here.

How SW can help

SW supports private clients in establishing and managing Giving Funds that align with their long-term philanthropic goals. We provide strategic advice on fund structuring, compliance, and distribution planning to ensure sustainability and impact.

We are actively engaged in the consultation process and advocate on behalf of our clients to help shape policy outcomes that support enduring charitable giving.

For assistance in establishing or managing a Giving Fund please contact our private client specialists, Heather Dyke or Matthew Oakey.  

The post Feedback on Treasury’s Giving Fund reforms appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

We are incredibly proud of our 15 participants this year, not only for the amount they raised but also for their compassion towards Australians who are struggling to find shelter and enduring the cold while living on the streets this winter.

CEO Duane Rogers said, “Of course, it can’t be done without all our team members, staff and the generous donors, and we are humbled by their contributions. Also, a very big congratulations to Partner, Matt Oakey for taking the lead with this firm community initiative for its 7th year, and to Amanda Lee and the Co2 Committee for their organisation and promotion to build awareness of our efforts.”

Matt Oakey says: ” This is the 7th year I have participated in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, and there were two key words from last night: respect and hope. I know that through our participation and fundraising, SW has created hope for the hard working team at Vinnies and the people that need their support. With the increased cost of living, Vinnies have had a 30% increase in requests for assistance. For a wealthy country like Australia, I question why do we have people who are sleeping rough and making choices about paying the rent or food? We need to respect those in our communities who are disadvantaged and help lift them up.”

Here’s what some of our other team members had to say about their experience:

“We heard heart-wrenching stories, that moved me deeply, from some of the people that have been helped by Vinnies’ holistic approach.”

Stephen O’Flynn

“Doing the Sleepout is always a great reminder of both how hard it must be to sleep rough night after night and the great work that Vinnies do to assist those in need.”

Chris Dexter

“Certainly extremely grateful to have a home. The stories of other experiences were heart wrenching.”

Tony Principe

“After one night sleep rough with snoring, having a safe and comfortable place/bed to sleep, it is such a treasure gift.”

Vicki Lam

“The food was good, and it wasn’t too cold so I can’t complain at all. The hard floor did made sleeping difficult. And the snoring. ‘Twas a symphony of snoring during the night!”

Tom Mullarkey

“It’s hard to imagine anyone sleeping well when sleeping rough – the 11pm and 4am street noise soundscapes gave us a small glimpse of what it can be like.”

Luke Fernandes

“So glad to be able to do a small part in tackling a big issue. Being able to hopefully have some families and especially some children get a warm and safe place to sleep is the main reason I help out. Every child has the right to a safe environment to sleep or call home so its important to help. I am proud of the effort by my fellow SW partners to contributing in a small but vital way to addressing the major issue that WA is facing. I urge more people to get involved next year.”

John Dorazio

You can still make a donation and it is not too late! Tax deductible donation until 31 July 2023.

This activity supports two of our key SDGs

The post SW’s 7th CEO Sleepout in 2023 | Record fundraising appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Introduction of Bill includes a further exemption

State Taxation and Treasury Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (part 8) provides an exemption from the Windfall Gains Tax for land owned by a university in certain circumstances. 

Background

The windfall gains tax (WGT) was announced in the 2021-22 Victorian Budget and the legislation received royal assent on 30 November 2021.  See our article on the Windfall Gains Tax and subsequent article on the charity land tax exemption for further detail.

The WGT will apply from 1 July 2023 and imposes a tax on land that receives an uplift in value as a result of rezoning at the following rates:

The Government wrote to universities in October 2021 to advise that charities would be exempt from the WGT where they owned and used the land for 15 years after the rezoning.  This exemption was included in the legislation that was passed in November 2021. 

Proposed WGT exemption for universities

The current bill has now proposed to provide an even broader exemption for universities than the 15 year charity exemption.  This broadening of the exemption is positive news, but universities should still understand that the exemption remains subject to the Commissioner’s approval and conditions.

Conditions for exemption

The proposed WGT exemption for universities will apply where it meets all of the following:

• the land is owned by a university
• the university is a charity, and
• the Commissioner is satisfied that any land revenue from the land will be used to further the university’s charitable purpose.

To access the exemption the university must provide to the Commissioner with a declaration as to:

• the nature of any land revenue form the land
• the intended application of the land revenue, and
• how the application of the land revenue will further the university’s charitable purpose.

Land revenue means any revenue arising from the sale or use of the land, including any of the following:

• sale proceeds from the sale of the land
• rental income from leasing the land
• licence fees from licensing the land.

How SW can assist

The SW Education team works closely with a large number of Victoria’s universities and has extensive experience in advising and assisting them to navigate financial complexities. Should your university be in the process of rezoning Victorian land and require any further advice on this issue please contact either Stephen O’Flynn or Steve Allan.

The post Broader university exemption for Windfall Gains Tax, VIC appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

From attracting supporters and raising funds through to maintaining accountability and transparency, governance and risk management – the demands are many.

Our experienced team can provide your team with tailored, sector-specific solutions for your organisation to achieve its purpose:

• NFP tax exemptions and concessions
• ACNC registration and ongoing management
• Review and advise on NFP governance, including policy development
• Manage your regulatory compliance obligations
• External audits
• Virtual CFO including all financial matters
• Board reporting
• Project Management
• Grant acquittal audits.

The post Not-for-profit appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

The recently released Windfall Gains Tax and State Taxation and Other Acts Further Amendment Bill 2021 has introduced Victoria’s new Windfall Gains Tax and included changes to the charity exemption for land tax.

This should be considered closely by Universities that hold land in Victoria as it will impose:

• land tax on certain land owned by Universities that has not historically been subject to land tax; and
• a significant new value capture tax where University land is rezoned (particularly where it is rezoned from public land to residential land).

Land Tax

The land tax exemption for charities has been narrowed so that it is now only available where land is:

• used and occupied by a charity exclusively for charitable purposes; or
• is vacant and has been declared by the University to be held for future use and occupation by a charitable institution exclusively for charitable purposes.

It is believed that this change was introduced to reverse the decision in University of Melbourne v Commissioner of State Revenue (Vic) which allowed the charity land tax exemption to apply to student accommodation located on the University of Melbourne Campus that is operated by a third-party student accommodation provider.

However, the amendment is likely to have a broader impact.

Universities will need to determine if land and buildings that they own but rent to or is used by third parties is ‘occupied’ by the University.

This would include not just student accommodation facilities rented to students, but any other buildings or facilities that are leased to businesses to provide services to students on campus such as banks, travel agents, cafes, etc.

Windfall Gains Tax

For a summary of the new Victorian Windfall Gains Tax please refer to our Windfall gains tax alert.

Relevantly for universities where land is rezoned it will be subject to Windfall Gains Tax unless the 15-year charity waiver applies.

The waiver is available where the land is continued to be held for 15 years after rezoning by the charity.

This waiver can continue to be available where the rezoned land is transferred to another charity and the new charity elects to receive the land with the deferred windfall gains tax liability and any accrued interest and commits to the land being used by a charity exclusively for charitable purposes.

How can SW assist?

If you believe that you will be affected by the WGT or have any questions on how to navigate these changes, please contact us – either your usual SW contact or any of our key contacts.

The post Victorian Universities – Windfall gains tax & changes to charity land tax exemption appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.