Community & Associations Newsletter – November 2016
Published on November 29, 2016 by Josephine Heesh, Martin Slattery and Patricia Monemvasitis
Introduction
We present our last Newsletter for 2016 and trust you will enjoy reading about
- ACNC’s role as the single reporting entity for Ancillary Funds
- Funding cuts to Community Legal Centres in NSW and the open letter legal firms, including Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, have written against this move
- The progress of the Timor-Australia border dispute, and its journey through international legal channels
- The highly reported case involving a group of Religious and sale of one of their assets to the US performer Katy Perry, especially with respect to possible implications for Australian Religious
As we approach the Season of Good News, we report a piece of good news concerning a new appointment for Tony Carroll and Mary Carroll.
The Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers Community & Associations Team
ACNC update
Red tape reduction for Private Ancillary Funds and Public Ancillary Funds
In a joint media release issued on 29 September 2016, the ATO and the ACNC announced that the organisations “are working together to reduce administrative burdens on charities, recently announcing that ancillary funds registered as charities now only need to report once.”
In the past, ancillary funds have had to lodge annual returns with both the ATO and the ACNC. Now, as part of the new collaboration between the organisations, ancillary funds will only have to report once, by logging into the ACNC’s charity portal and submitting an Annual Information Statement (AIS). The information collected by the ACNC through the AIS will be shared with the ATO.
The change is envisaged to allow ancillary funds “to focus on serving the community.”
You can read more about the changes here.
Josephine Heesh, Partner
Merryn Lynch, Solicitor
Funding cuts to Community Legal Centres
A number representatives of mid-sized Australian law firms became signatories to an open letter warning of the risks of cutting government funding to Community Legal Centers (CLCs).
The letter, signed by representatives of our firm and some others including Dibbs Barker, Henry Davis York and Kemp Strang, “calls for the reversal of the funding cuts and the adoption of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for civil legal assistance, moving towards the additional $200m of annual legal assistance sector civil funding recommended by the Productivity Commission, including an additional annual $120m from the Commonwealth Government.” The open letter warns that the cutting of funding to already underfunded CLCs could have significant impacts on access to justice, particularly “mak[ing] the situation even worse for vulnerable and disadvantaged clients across Australia.”
The heads of all states and territory law societies recently published a similar open letter. The state and territory law societies, which represent over 60,000 lawyers, wrote that CLCs “provide hundreds of thousands of people across Australia every year” and that funding cuts will impact not only clients of CLCs but, considering the “important preventative and early intervention work” done by CLCs, the “broader legal profession and justice system”.
Josephine Heesh, Partner
Merryn Lynch, Solicitor
The Timor-Leste – Australia Maritime Boundary Dispute: A return to “in good faith” negotiation?
On 19 September 2016, the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration issued its decision to facilitate conciliation between Timor-Leste and Australia in regards to the two countries’ unresolved maritime boundary dispute. The decision forces both countries to undertake conciliation by five independent conciliators. Although any decision of the conciliation commission will not be binding, the process necessarily induces the two states to continue the negotiation process; a process which Timor Leste argues that it has been stymied by lack of good faith in the negotiations on the part of Australia. Australia has indicated it will accept the conciliation commission’s decision
Martin Slattery, Partner
Self Rumbewas, Solicitor
Who owns your property if you are a Religious Community of reducing membership?
It was the case of the Pop Star, a Religious Community and the Archdiocese and a very valuable piece of real estate.
The California Institute of the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Religious) were gifted a prized piece of real estate over 40 years ago and this property was used as the convent for the Religious.
With only five remaining Religious, the Archdiocese ordered them to vacate the property over 4 years ago, and the question remains who had authority to sell the property. It also raised issues at canon law in respect to the owning of church property and the interrelationship between a Congregation and the Archdiocese.
Josephine Heesh, Partner
Jessica Lobow, Associate
Good News – The Compassionate Friends NSW INC has New Patrons
Tony Carroll AM, Special Counsel at Carroll & O’Dea and his wife Mary Carroll OAM, have recently been recognised for their long and generous involvement with The Compassionate Friends NSW Inc by becoming its new patrons. Mary held the Presidency for ten consecutive years and Tony continues to handle the charity’s legal matters on a pro bono basis.
In making the announcement, President Jenny Wandl, wrote “For many years the Compassionate Friends NSW had a wonderful patron in Dame Joan Sutherland. Since her death we have been unable to find a suitable successor. Then suddenly we realised that the perfect person was in fact a couple, and they were right here with us, still giving assistance in many years.”
The Compassionate Friends was founded in 1969 by the Church of England Clergyman Canon Dr. Simon Stephens OBE, RN and established in NSW in 1978. The main object of The Compassionate Friends is the support of parents, siblings, and families following the death of a child.
Patricia Monemvasitis, Partner
Merryn Lynch, Solicitor
