When I work with organisations, particularly if I am undertaking a high-level governance or risk review, the topic of legislative compliance inevitably comes up.
Common questions I am asked include:
What legislation do we need to comply with?
What do we need to do to be compliant?
Who do we report our compliance to?
Unpacking these questions and delving into the frameworks that surround them can sometimes feel like opening Pandora’s box…but it’s always better to know what you’re dealing with than to continue on in ignorant bliss, right!?
At least then you have somewhere to start!
For smaller organisations, or those who have a narrower scope of services, legislative compliance might be simpler to manage.
But for larger or more complex organisations, legislative compliance can feel quite overwhelming – one disability support organisation I worked with, for example, undertook an audit of all the pieces of legislation that were applicable to them, and they came up with nearly 100! Seriously!
In either case – whether yours is a large or small organisation – good systems and processes are what will keep you on track and on top of the things you need to comply with and report.
The first thing I often recommend is establishing a Legislation Register. This can be particularly helpful for larger or more complex organisations, but is also a great tool for other organisations too. It becomes your ‘one-stop-shop’ which contains everything you need to address.
Whatever tool you use for your Register (and I often just use a simple spreadsheet – particularly for smaller organisations), you need to link it to some sort of bring-up system that tells you when reporting dates are coming up, so you can prepare and lodge the required information, with the responsible authority, within the required timeframe.
You also need to ensure you use your Register, and the related systems and processes, and that you keep it all up to date.
To make sure this happens, managing and maintaining your Register needs to be part of someone’s job.
This will help ensure there is responsibility and accountability for all the compliance tasks your organisation need to complete.
For smaller or less complex organisations common legislative compliance requirements can include:
– Incorporation requirements
– Financial accounting requirements
– Privacy requirements
– Health and Safety requirements (depending upon where you are operating)
– Employment requirements (if you have paid staff)
– Charity requirements (if you are a registered charity)
For larger or more complex organisations there could be a whole range of sector-specific and activity-specific legislative requirements too.
If you are unsure of exactly what legislation applies to your organisation, it can be helpful to speak to:
– Organisations similar to yours
– Your peak body (if you have one)
– Your funding body (if you have one)
– A specialist not-for-profit lawyer
From good governance to reputation management to avoiding penalties, there are a myriad of reasons why your organisation needs to effectively manage its compliance requirements, and I hope this article prompts you to check in with what is happening in your not-for-profit.
