Committee members can be held personally liable

 for Damages Caused

 if they do not comply with Governance Rules

BCF is Registered as a charity with the ACNC (The Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission, https://www.acnc.gov.au/           

They became a ‘charity’ because their application form said they were ‘Advancing religion’.

This means for BCF to remain a ‘charity’, all their activities must only be about ‘Advancing Religion.”.

They are allowed to do some other things, but each of those other things must have the principal purpose of ‘Advancing Religion’.

Importantly, all ‘charities’ must always observe six core, minimum standards in the way they operate the charity. These are called ‘Governance Rules.’

The creators of this website are asking for an investigation into whether BCF’s is correctly registered as a ‘Charity’ on the following grounds:

• Can the ostracization of those who do not obey the Committee be a ’charitable purpose’  or the ‘Advancement of Religion’? (The topic of ostracization is discussed elsewhere on this website.

• Has BCF breached any of the six core minimum standards of governance required to retain registration as a ‘Charity’ with the ACNC?

We have attached a link to governance standards produced by the ACNC.  The document is titled:

 ‘GOVERNANCE FOR GOOD: A GUIDE FOR RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE’

Each of the following excerpts, in italics, is a direct quote from the ACNC’s governance standards and is self-explanatory. Highlighting has been added by us for emphasis.

• The term ‘Responsible People’ means the committee members and office holders of BCF.
• The term Constitution means BCF’s current Constitution. Copies are available on this website.

‘The Six Core minimum standard for ACNC Governance Standards’

‘All charities… need to comply with the ACNC Governance Standards. The Governance Standards are a set of six core, minimum standards that deal with how a charity is run. 

The governance standards are: 

‘Governance Standard 1 requires charities to demonstrate that they are set up… with a charitable purpose, and… work towards that charitable purpose.’ 

‘Governance Standard 2 requires charities to take reasonable steps to be accountable to their members and allow their members adequate opportunities to raise concerns about how the charity is run.’ 

‘Governance Standard 3 requires charities to act in a lawful way and comply with Australian Laws.’

(Elsewhere in this website, we explain our concerns that BCF may not be acting lawfully.)

‘Governance Standard 4 requires charities to ensure they are not controlled by people who may pose a risk to the charity’s financial position or the pursuit of its charitable work.’ 

‘Governance Standard 5 requires charities to take reasonable steps to make sure that its Responsible People meet certain duties.’

(Below we explain that committee members have a statutory and civil duty of care to the members of the Association and to the congregation.) This duty of care can give rise to personal liability for each member of the committee if there is a failure of a duty of care. 

‘Governance Standard 6 requires charities to take reasonable steps… where ‘…they are, or are likely to be, identified as being involved in the abuse of a person.’

The creators of this website hold concerns in relation to each of the six core minimum standards of the ACNC’s Governance Rules.

Your answers to the online survey will inform the ACNC about the governance practices of BCF and assist with an investigation.

Can committee members be held personally liable for breaching governance rules?

The legal duties of a responsible person are explained in the Governance Standards:

‘Duties’ 

• ‘Under Governance Standard 5, charities must take reasonable steps to ensure their responsible people are complying with their duties to: 

• act with reasonable care and diligence
• to act honestly and fairly in the best interests of the charity and for its charitable purposes, not to misuse their position or information they gain as a Responsible Person
• to disclose conflicts of interest
• to ensure that the financial affairs of the charity are managed responsibly,’ 

• See our guidance about duties of Responsible People for more details.’

• ‘the ACNC… can also disqualify’ [a Responsible Person] ‘…from being eligible to be on the governing body of any… registered charity.’ 

• ‘Don’t Forget: All Responsible People need to understand the charities financial position, not just the treasurer.’

• ‘Responsible People should also ensure their charity has appropriate checks and balances in place when it comes to decision-making and that decisions are arrived at through appropriate processes.’

 

From the Commonly Asked Question section:

‘Can Responsible People be personally liable?’ 

‘In most cases, if you are complying with your legal duties, you will not be personally liable as a responsible person. 

However, this can change depending on the type of charity you are a responsible person for or the particular action being taken. 

Responsible People of registered incorporated charities may be personally liable for deliberate actions or omissions that breach the Act if they have acted dishonestly, with gross negligence, or are reckless.

 (the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth) (the ACNC Act), 

‘If the trustee is a body corporate (an incorporated organisation) then the obligation and liabilities are imposed on the individuals who were the directors of the company at the time.’ 

Can responsible people delegate their responsibilities? 

‘Some responsibilities of responsible people may be delegated to others, although this depends on a charity’s rules and any legislation that applies to the charity.

Remember, even if some responsibilities can be delegated, the Responsible person still bears ultimate legal responsibility for any decisions.’ 

Can a responsible person be removed? 

‘A charity may have rules that set out if a responsible person can be removed before the end of their term of appointment and how that may be done. Some rules allow for a Responsible Person to be removed by a majority vote at a meeting of the members.’ 

‘The ACNC Act also gives the ACNC the power to suspend or remove Responsible People of a registered charity in certain serious and specific situations and also to appoint an ‘acting responsible entity’ to act in the place of the removed Responsible People.’ 

Your answers to the online survey question will help the ACNC check if BCF has breached any of the six core minimum standards of governance.