Australia Council's National Service Organisation scan
The Australia Council has finally completed the desktop scan of national service organisations that analyses 111 arts organisations, covering all states and territories and artistic disciplines.
Of the analysed organisations:
- 97% engage in member communication activities including newsletters, social media, and journals
- 83% deliver capacity building activities
- 43% engage in advocacy
- 36% undertake research and evaluation
The research is of particular interest to Ausdance National, following its loss of Australia Council operational funding last year—we definitely fulfil all of the activities listed above! The Council notes that it won’t be undertaking any specific communications related to the scan, but sees it as one of the many resources available on its website.
Treasury: Tax Deductible Gift Recipient reform—discussion paper
Treasury has published a discussion paper outlining a number of proposals to strengthen the DGR governance arrangements, reduce administrative complexity and ensure that an organisation’s eligibility for DGR status is up to date. Pro-Bono Australia has published an article with some commentary.
Artspeak will not be submitting a response, but members are encouraged to respond where possible. ArtsPeak’s initial analysis is that streamlining the four DGR registers (including ROCO) is a good idea; increasing reporting requirements is of concern, especially for smaller non-profits; and requiring additional information about advocacy activities is of concern if the intent is to limit advocacy activities.
Electronic submissions are being sought by 14 July.
Meeting with Shadow Arts Minister Tony Burke
The ArtsPeak executive will be meeting with Tony Burke on 24 July. Labor is planning for Creative Australia to remain its arts policy platform, but it has invited ArtsPeak to assist in updating the 2013 version. ArtsPeak will work on streamlining responses to the policy, and Ausdance National will also respond, having secured this meeting with Mr Burke for ArtsPeak.
This is an edited version of the ArtsPeak summary by spokesperson Nicole Beyer.