Archived: Australian Centre For Advanced Studies Inc., charity review
Care: At least some of the information about this charity is no longer current. Use the ‘Search charity names’ box to see if there is a later review. If the latest review has a message like this, you are welcome to make your case for an updated review via email to ted@businessbythebook.com.au.
This is a charity review, a review for those with an interest in the Australian charity Australian Centre For Advanced Studies Inc. (ACAS).
It is structured according to the charity’s entry on the ACNC[i]Register, and its purpose is to supply some information extra to what is there, information that may be helpful in your decision about ACAS.
It is up to you to decide whether any or all of the information presented here is what you need in order to make that decision, and whether you should seek any other information, either from the charity itself or from other sources.
Ministry response
- Prior to publishing this review, I sent my observations to the charity, on 24 March 2016, and invited them to comment. They did not respond.
Organisation of this review
- The first part of this review is organised according to the headings in the Register entry. This is how to use this section of the review:
- For each heading in the register entry, first read the information under that heading.
- Then check if that heading is included below. (Headings for which there is no comment are not included.)
- Then there is a section Membership of accountability organisations claimed.
Sources
- ACNC Register (including links)
- Google search on the charity’s name.
- ACAS website.
- Not on FaceBook or LinkedIn.
- State government fundraising licence registers.
- No reviews on Glassdoor yet.
REGISTRATION DETAILS
Entity Subtype
- The required selection is long overdue.
- Nothing in the objects in the constitution to indicate that it is a Christian college, let alone anything about sharing the Gospel.
CHARITY DETAILS
Legal Name
- ACAS is a WA incorporated association (No. A1004341H).
Other Name(s)
- The same name as the legal name should be here as a trading name; however, even if it were different, it would be of no consequence – it is a business name that is required in order to operate under any name other than the full name.
- They have trademarked a logo that includes the word ‘ACAS’, but the business name is held by the Aboriginal Children’s Advancement Society.
Charity Address for Service
- I have no reason to believe that this doesn’t work.
Charity ABN
- ACAS is a Deductible Gift Recipient. You can therefore claim a tax deduction for a donation to ACAS.
Charity Street Address
- Postal address, from the website: P.O. Box 14, Riverton, Western Australia, 6148.
- I have no reason to believe that this doesn’t work.
- An alternative, from the website: ross.woods@acas.edu.au.
Phone
- From the website: (08) 9331 4476
- But “As Randy and Ross are often out of the office, the mobile numbers are usually more effective.”
- Randy: 0412 855 050
- Ross: 0426 512 777
- But “As Randy and Ross are often out of the office, the mobile numbers are usually more effective.”
Website
- From the Google search: www.acas.edu.au.
ANNUAL REPORTING
- AIS 2015
- This is ACAS’s compulsory Annual Information Statement 2015 (AIS 2015).
- It should be here but is one and a half months late – and that is after a generous one month extension to all charities by the ACNC.
- AIS 2014
- It was lodged over three months late, 10 months after year end.
- It gives basic financial information.
- Unfortunately it’s all you’ve got:
- Because of its size ACAS doesn’t have to lodge a Financial Report.
- Although ACAS is a member of Missions Interlink[ii], and one of their requirements is that members ‘have available for its members and supporters a clear and appropriate financial statement which has been approved by its auditor [Standards Statement, 4.1], they
- did not choose to lodge one with the ACNC voluntarily, and
- did not respond to my request for a copy of this ‘statement’.
- I have therefore been unable to review the latest report.
ABOUT THE CHARITY
- Statement of Faith
- None on the website.
- Nor in the constitution.
Date Established
- There’s a ‘brief history’ on the website.
Who the Charity Benefits
- Vision and Mission
- None found.
- Activities (What did ACAS do?)
- From the Description of charity’s activities and outcomes in the AIS 2014:
- We provide educational programs, and our purpose is to provide educational programs.
- Not particular to 2014.
- We provide educational programs, and our purpose is to provide educational programs.
- From the constitution, here are ACAS’s objects:
- a. to conduct postsecondary studies, teaching, training, and research in fields as the College from time to time considers necessary or appropriate… b. to conduct educational support programs… [clause II.1.]
- From the Description of charity’s activities and outcomes in the AIS 2014:
- Outcomes (What did ACAS deliver?)
- ACAS did not respond to the request in the AIS 2014 for a description of its outcomes.
- Nothing systematic found on the website.
- Impact (How were people’s lives improved?)
- Nothing systematic.
Size of Charity
- ACAS is $90K under the threshold for the next size up, Medium.
Financial Year End
- After they get up-to-date, submitting their AIS 2015, the next financial report is due by 31 December 2016 (or a month later if the ACNC again gives its generous extension.) Before that the financial information on the Register will be up to 18 months out-of-date.
You may therefore need to ask for more up-to-date information.
WHERE THE CHARITY OPERATES
Operating State(s)[ii]
- Given that it operates interstate, ACAS, as a registrable Australian body, needs an ARBN. It doesn’t have one.
- ACAS promotes its ‘Deductible gift fund’ on its website (under ‘About us’).
- It doesn’t have a fundraising licence in any of the seven four states that have a licensing regime.
- Apart from exemptions, whether it needs such a licence in a particular state depends on (a) whether fundraising is part of what ACAS does in that state, and (b) whether that state thinks that ACAS, by calling for donations publicly, is ‘fundraising’ in their territory.
CHARITY’S DOCUMENT (SIC)
- There is no Annual Report/Review available on the ACNC Register.
- Nor on the website.
No. of Australian ‘responsible person’ positions[iii]
Randal Salmond This function was not working at the time of publication
- The website shows that, in compliance with the constitution, the following names should also be on the Register:
- Ross Woods
- Tina Gunter
- Beth Roberton
- David Gunter
- Cara Phillips
- Smiling Campbell (Xiaoting Chen)
- The list includes a Chairperson and a Secretary. To comply with the constitution, a Deputy Chairperson is also required.
- As Tina and David appear to be closely connected, and with only two of the other board members being independent, there is an argument that the board should at least be expanded. (End of review of the ACNC Register information)
Membership of accountability organisations claimed
- None claimed. ACAS is, however, a member of Missions Interlink.
(End of review)
[i] Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, Australia’s national regulator of charities.
[ii] This is how the ACNC explains ‘operating locations’ in their application guide: ‘You need to give details about where in Australia your organisation conducts (or plans to conduct) its activities.’
[iii] Because of the possibility of two (or more) directors having the same name on the register of responsible persons, it is not possible to be definitive about the number of directorships held.