Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan joined representatives of Victoria’s not-for-profit (NFP) sector at Sports House in Albert Park to officially launch the state’s first ever online NFP Compliance Support Centre today.
Mr Ryan said the online portal would provide a single location for detailed information, advice and documentation to assist organisations in meeting compliance regulations set by all levels of government.
“This is an exciting initiative and is a key plank in the Victorian Government’s plan to reduce regulatory burden for community sector organisations,” Mr Ryan said.
“The current regulatory environment for NFPs is complex and requires organisations to comply with more than 60 individual Acts and Regulations across all levels of government.
“The new NFP Compliance Support Centre website will offer a single entry point for all regulatory information, licenses, forms and related support materials.”
Mr Ryan said widespread input and feedback from NFP stakeholders demonstrated the need for a central information portal and helped guide the development of the website.
“Representatives of more than 160 community organisations participated in online forums, one-on-one interviews and website testing to ensure the new website is user-friendly and tailored to the special needs of the NFP sector,” Mr Ryan said.
“Forty-five per cent of respondents did not know where to find necessary compliance information and 43 per cent confirmed there was no well-known, authoritative entry point to source compliance information.
“The new web portal will provide a simple way for NFPs to find the information they need.”
During the visit, Mr Ryan also announced a $191,000 grant to continue the Community Assets Building Program run by Foresters Community Finance.
“This program is designed to help NFP organisations access capital to purchase a property to house their services or generate income, or to attain a secure long-term lease,” Mr Ryan said.
To access the new NFP Compliance Support Centre visit www.nfpcompliance.vic.gov.au and for more information about the Community Assets Building Program visit www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/communitydevelopment/community-sector