The Rationalist Society of Australia has raised concerns with the nation’s charities regulator about election-related activities of religious charities that have received widespread media attention this week.
In a letter to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) today, the RSA asked the regulator whether it would examine the political commentary of Catholic education authorities in New South Wales and Victoria, along with alleged political activity of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (formerly Exclusive Brethren).
As reported widely this week, Catholic Schools NSW and the Victorian Catholic Education Authority cautioned parents and carers in their school communities against voting for the Greens and independent candidates. Catholic Schools NSW said, for example, “only the major parties” were “committed to supporting parental school choice”.
Both bodies have charity status for the purpose of ‘advancing education’ and ‘advancing religion’.
According to media reports, Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – which has charity status for ‘advancing religion’ – allegedly directed hundreds of its members to staff pre-polling booths in marginal seats for the Liberal Party. The church has denied claims that it was a coordinated effort.
In the letter to ACNC Commissioner Sue Woodward, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said such actions appeared to be inconsistent with the ACNC’s own guidance for charities in regards to supporting or opposing political parties or candidates.
Guidance on the ACNC website makes it clear that a charity with a purpose of advancing religion cannot have a purpose of promoting candidates or parties.
“If it promotes a particular candidate, it runs the risk of being found to have a disqualifying political purpose. But the charity can publish material advising of the candidate’s views on issues that have implications for people of that faith,” says the guidance.
“A charity with the purpose of advancing education can produce and distribute a flyer that states a party’s policies in relation to education and allows readers to draw their own conclusions.”
Mr Gladman noted that similar activity had occurred at the 2022 federal election, where a faith-based lobby group with charity status for ‘advancing religion’ directly targeted certain Liberal Party candidates and later claimed to have “had a role” in reducing the number of ‘moderate’ parliamentarians in the party.
Mr Gladman asked Commissioner Woodward whether such activities met the requirements of charities law.
“We are concerned that commentary and activities by charities directed toward supporting or opposing a party or candidate, especially during election periods, undermines the privilege of holding charity status and serves to further undermine public trust and confidence in the charities system,” he wrote.
In a statement on its website yesterday, the ACNC warned charities risked regulatory action if they did not abide by advocacy rules.
“They should not endorse political candidates, but they can rank policies. They should avoid any activity that could be perceived as being partisan,” said Commissioner Woodward.
The RSA also asked whether the ACNC would pursue new measures, such as improved guidance to charities, to prevent such cases from continuing to occur.
When the new parliament resumes, the RSA will step up its campaign for reforms in the charities sector in order to restore public confidence and improve accountability and transparency.
At the start of the election campaign, the RSA wrote to independent MPs and minor parties, outlining three key reforms that it wanted to see in the next parliament – removal of the ‘Basic Religious Charities’ (BRC) category, removal of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose, and removal of tax concessions enjoyed by commercial enterprises owned by religious charities and where business activities were unrelated to the charitable purpose.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively campaigning for reform of the charities sector. Follow our campaign updates here.
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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.
Image: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Facebook)