Fundraising Regulations 2019

The Regulations rest on a set of discrete statutory concepts and operational thresholds drawn from and tied to the Fundraising Act 1998. The main concepts in the Regulations are as follows.

Fundraising appeal exclusion. Regulation 6 identifies narrowly framed activities that are not fundraising appeals for the purposes of section 5(3)(g) of the Act. The exclusions are limited to soliciting or receiving money or benefits in lieu of flowers sent to a deceased person’s funeral or family during the bereavement period, and funds solicited or received by a deceased person’s family for the benefit of a person or organisation in lieu of flowers sent during that bereavement period (reg 6). These carve-outs are specific and do not purport to exclude other kinds of memorial or bereavement fundraising.

Identification badge requirements. Regulation 7 operationalises section 9(2) of the Act by setting minimum content and presentation rules for badges. Mandatory content includes the name of the person conducting the appeal, the name of the badge-holder, and, where the badge-holder solicits from persons in motor vehicles on roads, an identification number issued by the person conducting the appeal and unique to the badge-holder (reg 7(1)). Presentation rules specify that lettering or numbers must be no less than 4 millimetres high, and handwritten information must be in capital letters (reg 7(2)). Any non-mandatory information on the badge must be no larger than the mandatory information (reg 7(3)).

Unique identification number and recordkeeping. If a unique identification number is issued under reg 7(1)(c), the issuer must keep a record linking each number to the named individual (reg 8(1)). That specific record is exempted from compliance with section 31(2) of the Act provided the record is retained for at least three months after the end of the fundraising appeal for which the badge is issued (reg 8(2)). The exemption from s31(2) applies only to that particular record and is conditional on three month retention.

Renewal and beneficiary consent. Regulation 9 ties renewal applications (section 22(2)(b) of the Act) back to the initial registration information requirements (section 18(2)), and requires renewal applications to be accompanied either by written consent to an intended appeal from each intended beneficiary who has not previously provided consent, or a written explanation why obtaining that consent is not practicable (reg 9).

Deemed registered fundraisers and the National Fundraising Principles. The 2024 amendments create a category of "deemed registered fundraisers" required to comply with the National Fundraising Principles set out in Schedule 2 when conducting appeals (reg 9A). Subject to that compliance, deemed registered fundraisers are exempt from specified sections of the Act when conducting appeals in Victoria: sections 9, 10, 11, 12A and 12B (reg 9B). Schedule 2 enumerates operational standards covering disclosure, identification, recordkeeping, donor rights and protections, time-of-day restrictions for door-to-door and telephone fundraising, prohibitions on misleading conduct, obligations to protect vulnerable donors, requirements to disclose whether fundraising is profit-making and commercial fundraiser payment arrangements, due diligence on third parties, complaints handling, privacy compliance, and a requirement that remuneration to commercial fundraisers not be excessive relative to funds raised (Schedule 2, items 1 to 16).

Fees and penalties. The Regulations set the fee for inspection of records at $25.00 (reg 10). Schedule 1 prescribes infringement penalties for specific offences against sections of the Fundraising Act 1998; amounts are expressed in penalty units. The Endnotes explain the penalty unit calculation regime and state the 2024 value of a penalty unit as $197.59, subject to annual adjustment by the Treasurer (Endnotes).

Register content. Regulation 12 permits the register maintained under the Act to include the name and address of any commercial fundraiser administering all or part of an appeal for a registered fundraiser and to include details of any condition imposed on a registered fundraiser (reg 12).

Statutory sources and scope. The Regulations are made under section 71 of the Act (reg 2) and expressly interact with a variety of Act provisions: identification badges under s9(2) (reg 7), renewal under s22(2)(b) and information under s18(2) (reg 9), recordkeeping s31(2) (reg 8), inspection s33 (reg 10), infringement notices s61D(3) (reg 11), and register content s70A(3)(e) (reg 12). The Regulations also incorporate interpretive and administrative machinery via the Endnotes, for example the sunset in accordance with the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 and the use of penalty units under the Sentencing Act 1991 and Monetary Units Act 2004 (Endnotes).

Conceptually, the Regulations combine formal, low-cost administrative requirements such as font size and a $25 inspection fee with substantive behavioural standards imposed through the National Fundraising Principles for a designated class of fundraisers. The Principles set both affirmative duties (identification, recordkeeping, complaints handling, due diligence) and prohibitions (no misleading statements, no coercion, no exploitation of vulnerability, restrictions on timing), and require disclosure of commercial remuneration arrangements where relevant. The Regulations therefore mix prescriptive technical detail with a code of conduct that is normative and operational rather than purely procedural.

The Regulations impose obligations and create entitlements across several identifiable groups. The primary affected parties are:

• Persons conducting fundraising appeals. They must issue identification badges that comply with regulation 7 when they issue badges under s9(2) of the Act. They are the issuer of any unique identification numbers required where fundraisers solicit from persons in vehicles on roads (reg 7(1)(c) and reg 8(1)). They must ensure records of issued identification numbers are kept and retained for the specified period (reg 8). They may also be responsible for including commercial fundraisers and conditions on the register under reg 12.

• Individuals who solicit or receive money on behalf of a fundraiser. These persons must wear identifying badges that display the required information and meet presentation requirements (reg 7). If they solicit from persons in motor vehicles on a road, they must have a unique identification number on the badge (reg 7(1)(c)). Their details will be recorded by the issuer of the number and linked to that number (reg 8(1)). Where the organisation is a deemed registered fundraiser, employees, volunteers, contractors and others engaged to raise funds must comply with the National Fundraising Principles (Schedule 2 items 1 to 16, and reg 9A).

• Deemed registered fundraisers. This class is newly regulated through the 2024 amendments. When conducting fundraising appeals, deemed registered fundraisers must comply with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9A; Schedule 2). In return, they are, subject to compliance, exempt from sections 9, 10, 11, 12A and 12B of the Fundraising Act 1998 while conducting appeals in Victoria (reg 9B). The Regulations thus alter the compliance pathway for these organisations, substituting the Principles and associated operational duties for the specified statutory sections.

• Registered fundraisers and commercial fundraisers who administer appeals. Regulation 12 allows the register to include the name and address of any commercial fundraiser administering all or part of an appeal for a registered fundraiser (reg 12(a)). Item 16 of the National Fundraising Principles places an expectation on deemed registered fundraisers to ensure remuneration to commercial fundraisers engaged to fundraise for them is not excessive when compared to funds or goods received for the purpose of the appeal (Schedule 2 item 16). Item 10 of Schedule 2 further requires disclosure to donors where commercial fundraisers are engaged such that the donor understands the commercial arrangement and how the fundraiser is paid.

• Intended beneficiaries of fundraising appeals. Renewal applications must be accompanied by written consent to an intended appeal from each intended beneficiary who has not previously provided consent, or a written explanation why obtaining consent is not practicable (reg 9). This places a participation/consent nexus between those listed as beneficiaries of an appeal and the fundraiser seeking renewal.

• The public, donors and prospective donors. The National Fundraising Principles create direct obligations affecting donor-facing conduct. These include identification and disclosure requirements (Schedule 2 items 1 and 2), a right to have refusals and future-contact requests respected (item 4), restrictions on fundraising times (item 5), prohibitions on misleading or coercive conduct and protection of vulnerable individuals (items 6 to 8), and requirements to explain whether donations are one-off or ongoing and how to end ongoing donations (item 9). The public is also the party who may be asked to pay the inspection fee of $25.00 to inspect records (reg 10).

• Persons administering the register and enforcement agencies. The register may record commercial fundraiser details and conditions on registered fundraisers (reg 12). The Regulations specify prescribed infringement penalties for certain offences under the Act via Schedule 1 and regulate how those amounts are calculated by reference to penalty units and monetary unit legislation (reg 11; Schedule 1; Endnotes). The Endnotes identify the penalty unit regime under the Sentencing Act 1991 and Monetary Units Act 2004.

Who pays and who decides. The immediate financial burdens run to fundraisers and commercial fundraisers through compliance costs: producing compliant badges, keeping and retaining the required records, obtaining written beneficiary consents for renewal where applicable, implementing the National Fundraising Principles (training staff, record systems, complaints processes, due diligence on third parties, disclosure systems), and potential infringement penalty payments. Members of the public pay a small fee to inspect records. Decision-making about compliance is split: the person conducting the appeal controls badge issuance and ID number assignment, and deemed registered fundraisers control how they organise fundraising and their engagement of third parties. The regulator or registrar under the Act will operate the register and will issue infringement notices under s61D of the Act in respect of the offences listed in Schedule 1, but the Regulations themselves do not reassign enforcement responsibilities.

Geographic and temporal scope. The Regulations apply in Victoria and commenced on 1 June 2019 (reg 3). The 2024 amendments regarding the National Fundraising Principles commenced 3 July 2024 (Endnotes). The Regulations will sunset on 21 May 2029 (Endnotes).

The Regulations allocate specific duties to identifiable actors and create limited rights or entitlements. Below is a focused list of the material obligations and rights, with statutory references.

Duties imposed on persons issuing badges and on fundraisers:

• Issue identifying badges that prominently display the name of the person conducting the fundraising appeal and the name of the badge-holder (reg 7(1)(a)-(b)).
• Where soliciting from persons in motor vehicles on roads, place on the badge an identification number issued by the person conducting the appeal that is unique to the badge-holder (reg 7(1)(c)).
• Ensure the badge’s lettering or numbers are at least 4 millimetres high and that any handwritten information is in capital letters (reg 7(2)).
• Ensure any non-mandatory information on the badge is not larger than mandatory information (reg 7(3)).
• If issuing unique identification numbers, make and retain a record linking number to person (reg 8(1)); retain that record for at least three months after the end of the fundraising appeal for which the badge was issued to qualify for the limited exemption from s31(2) (reg 8(2)).

Duties on renewal applicants:

• An application to renew registration as a fundraiser must contain the information required under section 18(2) for a registration application (reg 9(a)). The Regulations do not restate s18(2); they require the renewal application to replicate that statutory content.
• Renewal applications must be accompanied by either the written consent of each intended beneficiary who has not already provided consent to the intended appeal or a written explanation of why obtaining consent is impracticable (reg 9(b)).

Duties on deemed registered fundraisers:

• When conducting fundraising appeals, deemed registered fundraisers must comply with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9A).
• The National Fundraising Principles require a range of actions and prohibitions, including:
  • Always explain the charity’s purpose and the purpose to which funds will be applied in ways appropriate to the audience (Schedule 2 item 1).
  • Ensure individuals raising funds are clearly and individually identifiable by public display of identification containing the individual’s name, whether they are a volunteer, employee or acting in another capacity, and the deemed registered fundraiser or commercial organisation’s name and contact details (item 2).
  • Make and keep written records of fundraising appeals that are easily read and understood, and specifically make and keep records of total funds raised and how funds are applied (items 3 and 12).
  • Acknowledge and comply with donor refusals and requests not to receive further solicitations and other contact preferences (item 4).
  • Observe prohibited times for door-to-door and telephone fundraising (item 5).
  • Never mislead donors or use false information, never use undue pressure or unconscionable conduct, and never exploit vulnerable donors (items 6 to 8).
  • Make clear whether donations are one-off or ongoing and explain how to end ongoing donations (item 9).
  • Disclose where commercial fundraisers are used, that the organisation makes a profit from fundraising and how commercial fundraisers are paid before accepting a donation in such cases (item 10).
  • Conduct due diligence when engaging third-party fundraisers (item 11).
  • Protect health, safety and wellbeing of fundraisers and the public when fundraising (item 13).
  • Maintain a complaints process (item 14).
  • Comply with the Australian Privacy Principles where required under the Privacy Act 1988 (item 15).
  • Ensure remuneration to commercial fundraisers is not excessive in comparison with funds or goods received for the appeal (item 16).

Rights and entitlements:

• A person or member of the public may inspect records subject to payment of the prescribed fee $25.00 (reg 10). The Regulations therefore prescribe an entitlement balanced against a low fee.
• The register may contain additional information for public or administrative benefit, such as the name and address of any commercial fundraiser engaged to administer an appeal and conditions imposed on a registered fundraiser (reg 12).
• Deemed registered fundraisers gain the right to be exempt, when conducting appeals in Victoria, from the statutory obligations in sections 9, 10, 11, 12A and 12B of the Act, provided they comply with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9B). The Regulations therefore establish an alternative compliance route rather than an absolute exemption from regulatory oversight.

Penalties and enforcement powers:

• The Regulations set infringement penalties for particular offences under the Act (reg 11; Schedule 1). Those amounts are specified as penalty units. For the financial year commencing 1 July 2024 the Endnotes give the penalty unit value as $197.59 and note the Treasurer will fix future values under the Monetary Units Act 2004. The table in Schedule 1 sets offences with penalties at either 2.5 penalty units or 12.5 penalty units depending on the section breached (Schedule 1 items 1 to 13).

Conditional and limited exemptions:

• The record linking unique identification numbers to individuals is exempt from section 31(2) of the Act only if retained for at least three months after the end of the fundraising appeal for which the badge is issued (reg 8(2)). The exemption is narrowly specified and conditional.
• The exemptions for deemed registered fundraisers from sections 9, 10, 11, 12A and 12B of the Act are expressly subject to compliance with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9B).

Interaction with privacy law:

• The National Fundraising Principles expressly require compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles where the Privacy Act 1988 applies (Schedule 2 item 15). This places an additional statutory layering over data handling for fundraisers who are covered entities under the Privacy Act.

Record retention minimums and presentation rules:

• The Regulations set a specific minimum retention period of three months for the identification-number record (reg 8(2)) and set precise formatting requirements for badges, including a minimum character height of 4 millimetres and capital letters for handwritten content (reg 7(2)).

Collectively, the duties impose modest technical compliance tasks, narrow record retention obligations, and a more substantive code of conduct for deemed registered fundraisers. The Regulations explicitly replace some statutory obligations in the Fundraising Act for that class of fundraisers with the National Fundraising Principles, effectively streamlining compliance for that group but requiring them to implement an operational code covering donor protections, disclosure and third-party management.

The Regulations prescribe infringement penalties for a range of offences under the Fundraising Act 1998 and specify the inspection fee for records. They operate within the infringement notice regime in the Act and use the penalty unit monetary framework. Key points and the enforcement mechanics under the Regulations are as follows.

Infringement penalties fixed by reference. Regulation 11 makes the infringement penalty amounts for particular offences under the Act those amounts listed in Schedule 1. The Schedule lists 13 items that map particular sections of the Act to an infringement penalty expressed in penalty units (Schedule 1). The offences covered in Schedule 1 include, among others, breaches of section 9(1) of the Act and several recordkeeping and reporting offences under sections 29, 31, 32 and 33 of the Act (Schedule 1 items 1 to 13).

Penalty unit amounts and computing dollar value. The Schedule specifies penalty amounts in penalty units. The Endnotes explain that those penalty units are to be converted to dollars in accordance with section 7 of the Monetary Units Act 2004 and that the penalty unit value for the financial year commencing 1 July 2024 is $197.59 per unit. Using that 2024 figure, the monetary equivalents for the Schedule entries are as follows for that financial year:

• 2.5 penalty units equals approximately $494.00 (2.5 × $197.59).
• 12.5 penalty units equals approximately $2,470.00 (12.5 × $197.59). These figures are illustrative using the 2024 published value; the Regulations point users to the statutory mechanism for annual adjustment by the Treasurer and require publication of the value in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper prior to 1 June in the preceding financial year (Endnotes). The Regulations therefore create a framework where the dollar cost of infringement notices will vary across years without amending the Regulations.

Which offences carry which penalty. The Schedule allocates lower-level penalties (2.5 penalty units) for items such as offences against section 9(1) of the Act and section 14 subsections (Schedule 1 items 1 to 4 and item 13) and higher penalties (12.5 penalty units) for a group of recordkeeping and reporting offences such as section 29 subsections, section 31(1) and (2), and section 32(2) and section 33(4) (Schedule 1 items 5 to 12). The Regulations therefore attach relatively higher infringement amounts to recordkeeping breaches and certain reporting offences.

Inspection fee. Regulation 10 prescribes a fee of $25.00 for inspection of records for the purposes of section 33 of the Act. This is a statutory, fixed fee for inspection rights and operates separately from infringement penalties.

Enforcement mechanism. The Regulations themselves do not describe who issues infringement notices; they operate by prescribing amounts under section 61D(3) of the Act (reg 11). Enforcement and issuing of infringement notices will therefore proceed under the Act’s infringement notice regime and any delegated powers conferred under the Act. The Regulations provide the quantities and amounts the enforcement agency must use when issuing notices.

Conditional exemptions and enforcement implications. Two conditional exemptions in the Regulations have enforcement implications. First, the record linking unique identification numbers to named individuals is exempt from section 31(2) provided it is retained for at least three months after the end of the fundraising appeal (reg 8(2)). Failure to retain that record for the three-month period would remove the exemption and could expose the issuer to charges under section 31(2) of the Act, which carries an infringement penalty of 12.5 penalty units according to Schedule 1 item 11. Second, deemed registered fundraisers are exempt from sections 9, 10, 11, 12A and 12B of the Act only where they comply with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9B). Non-compliance with the Principles may expose deemed registered fundraisers to enforcement under the Act’s general contravention provisions and the Schedule 1 infringement framework where the underlying Act sections are engaged.

Limits of the Regulations’ enforcement detail. The Regulations set fixed amounts and prescribe a small administrative inspection fee, but they rely on the Act for the broader enforcement and infringement notice process. The Endnotes draw attention to the statutory conversion of penalty units and the mechanism for annual adjustment of the penalty unit value. The Regulations do not change the underlying criminal or civil penalties in the Act beyond fixing infringement notice amounts.

Practical enforcement risk. From a compliance viewpoint, the Schedule’s concentration of higher infringement penalties on recordkeeping provisions (section 29, section 31(1) and (2), section 32(2)) indicates regulatory attention to documentation and transparency. Entities that fail to maintain required records or to make records available as required by the Act are exposed to comparatively larger infringement figures. The inspection fee of $25.00 is minimal and does not act as a significant financial barrier to public inspection.

In sum, the Regulations fix specific infringement amounts in penalty units and an inspection fee, conditionally narrow an exemption from s31(2) subject to retention, and shift a class of deemed registered fundraisers onto a principles-based compliance path while maintaining the Act’s infringement machinery as the enforcement backbone.

The Regulations operate as subordinate legislation to the Fundraising Act 1998 and expressly reference and interact with several other statutory regimes. The principal interactions are set out below and are derived from the Regulations and the Endnotes.

Primary relationship with the Fundraising Act 1998. These Regulations are made under section 71 of the Fundraising Act 1998 (reg 2) and repeatedly reference specific sections of the Act as the operative legal anchors for the Regulations’ requirements. For example, reg 7 implements requirements connected to identifying badges issued under s9(2) of the Act. Regulation 8’s limited exemption references section 31(2) of the Act. Regulation 9 ties renewal applications to section 22(2)(b) and to the information required by section 18(2) of the Act. Regulation 10 prescribes the fee for inspection for the purposes of section 33 of the Act. Regulation 11 prescribes infringement penalties under section 61D(3) of the Act, and regulation 12 supplements the register under section 70A(3)(e) of the Act. The Regulations therefore augment and make operational specific provisions of the Act rather than supplanting the Act.

Privacy law. The National Fundraising Principles in Schedule 2 expressly require a deemed registered fundraiser to ensure that information covered by the Privacy Act 1988 of the Commonwealth is collected, used and managed in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles where required by that Act (Schedule 2 item 15). This creates a direct overlay with Commonwealth privacy law where the fundraiser is a covered entity. The Regulations themselves do not alter the ambit of the Privacy Act but require compliance with it as part of the internal governance expected of deemed registered fundraisers.

Penalty unit and monetary law. The Endnotes explain that the Regulations reference penalty units within the meaning of section 110 of the Sentencing Act 1991 and that actual dollar amounts for penalties are calculated under section 7 of the Monetary Units Act 2004. The Endnotes supply the value of a penalty unit for the 2024 financial year as $197.59 and state that the Treasurer will fix future values under the Monetary Units Act 2004 with required publication in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June of the preceding financial year. Therefore the Regulations interact procedurally with the Sentencing Act 1991 and the Monetary Units Act 2004 when converting penalty units to monetary amounts.

Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. The Endnotes state that the Regulations will sunset 10 years after they were made on 21 May 2019 pursuant to section 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. This places the Regulations in the standard subordinate legislation lifecycle and subjects them to the statutory sunset and review regime.

Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984. The Endnotes include an interpretive note about certain style and structural rules applied to the publication and interpretation of the Regulations, referencing the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984. This affects how headings, examples, punctuation and provision numbers in the Regulations are to be treated legally and informs drafting and interpretation practice.

Overlap with the Fundraising Act compliance regime. The Regulations create an alternative compliance route for deemed registered fundraisers by making their compliance with the National Fundraising Principles the condition for exemption from several sections of the Fundraising Act (reg 9B). The Regulations do not specify the full content of the exempted Act sections within the text of the Regulations; they simply declare that compliance with the Principles suffices to obtain exemption from those sections when conducting fundraising in Victoria. This sets up a substitution effect where compliance basis shifts from specific statutory obligations to a principles-based code in respect of a defined class of fundraisers.

Interaction with commercial law and contract terms. Schedule 2 items 11 and 16 require due diligence when engaging third parties and that remuneration to commercial fundraisers is not excessive compared with money or goods received for the appeal. These items imply that the contractual arrangements between fundraisers and commercial fundraisers should reflect diligence, oversight and remuneration constraint. The Regulations do not themselves prescribe contractual provisions, but they create an expectation that contracts and procurement practices will be structured to provide compliance evidence.

Regulatory and enforcement interplay. The Regulations prescribe infringement penalties under the Act’s infringement notice provisions. Enforcement action, including any decisions to issue infringement notices, will proceed under the Fundraising Act 1998. The Regulations’ conditional exemptions and recordkeeping concessions interact with the Act’s recordkeeping provisions: for instance, the specific exemption in reg 8(2) provides a limited carve-out from section 31(2), but non-compliance with the reg 8(2) retention condition would expose the issuer to penalties under the Act’s recordkeeping provisions (Schedule 1 assigns 12.5 penalty units to an offence under section 31(2)).

In practical terms, fundraisers and advisers must reconcile the Regulations with:

• the Fundraising Act 1998 obligations and enforcement provisions referenced in the Regulations;
• privacy obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 where relevant;
• monetary conversion and penalty unit valuation under the Sentencing Act 1991 and Monetary Units Act 2004;
• subordinate legislation lifecycle requirements under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994; and
• any contractual and procurement law responsibilities arising from third-party fundraising arrangements.

The Regulations therefore function as a subordinate regulatory layer that operationalises statutory duties and interfaces with Commonwealth privacy obligations and monetary conversion regimes.

The Regulations were originally made on 21 May 2019 under section 71 of the Fundraising Act 1998 and came into operation on 1 June 2019 (reg 3; Endnotes). They revoked the Fundraising Regulations 2009 (reg 4). The published instrument includes an explicit Table of Amendments in the Endnotes that records subsequent changes.

Notable amendment in 2024. The Regulations were amended by the Fundraising Amendment (National Fundraising Principles) Regulations 2024, S.R. No. 67/2024. The Table of Amendments records:

• Date of making: 2 July 2024.
• Date of commencement for that amendment instrument: 3 July 2024 (Endnotes, Table of Amendments).

Substantive insertions and substitutions recorded in the body of the Regulations and their marginal notes include:

• Reg 1(da) was inserted by S.R. No. 67/2024 reg. 5 to add the objective "to require that deemed registered fundraisers comply with the National Fundraising Principles when conducting fundraising appeals" (reg 1(da)).
• The heading for regulation 5 was substituted and the definitions were amended by S.R. No. 67/2024 reg. 6(1) and reg. 6(2), with reg 5 adding a definition of "the National Fundraising Principles" by S.R. No. 67/2024 reg. 6(3).
• Regulation 9A (Deemed registered fundraisers to comply with the National Fundraising Principles) and Regulation 9B (Deemed registered fundraisers are exempt from certain requirements of the Act) were inserted by S.R. No. 67/2024 reg. 7.
• Schedule 2, which contains the National Fundraising Principles, was inserted by S.R. No. 67/2024 reg. 8.

The Endnotes include the standard explanatory details for the instrument and list the penalty unit calculation approach under the Sentencing Act 1991 and Monetary Units Act 2004, including the 2024 value of a penalty unit at $197.59. The Endnotes also reiterate the sunset provision under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, specifying that the Regulations will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 21 May 2029.

No other amendment entries are recorded in the Table of Amendments in the provided text. The Regulations therefore have a limited amendment history composed of their original enactment in 2019 and a targeted amendment in 2024 adding the National Fundraising Principles and related definitional and exemption provisions.

Practical effect of the 2024 amendment. The addition of the National Fundraising Principles and the deemed-registered-fundraiser exemption pathway represents the principal policy change recorded in the amendments. It creates a parallel compliance route for a class of fundraisers where compliance with a principles-based code replaces some of the specified Act-based requirements for fundraising in Victoria. The amendment also mandated additional definitional material and the insertion of Schedule 2 as a regulatory instrument imposing operational obligations and behavioural standards on deemed registered fundraisers.

Sunset and review considerations. The Endnotes note the statutory sunset under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. The Regulations are therefore subject to periodic review or potential termination unless remade or extended before the sunset date, currently scheduled as 21 May 2029. Any revision to the National Fundraising Principles or expansion of the exemption regime would require subsequent amending statutory rules.

Record of substitutions and editorial notes. The Endnotes also include interpretive guidance drawn from the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 concerning style, headings and treatment of provisions added after 1 January 2001. The body of the Regulations includes footnote-style marginal notes indicating which clauses or definitions were inserted or substituted by the 2024 amendments.

In short, the amendment history recorded in the instrument is compact: original making in May 2019; the full revocation of the 2009 Regulations; and the July 2024 amendments which inserted the National Fundraising Principles and created the deemed registered fundraiser compliance pathway. The instrument’s sunset in 2029 is recorded, which sets a statutory horizon for review.

The legislative text and Endnotes provided do not record any judicial decisions, administrative tribunal determinations or specific litigation arising under these Regulations. The instrument includes no citations to case law and the Endnotes make no reference to litigation or disputes concerning the Regulations.

Because the Regulations operate by reference to the Fundraising Act 1998 and its enforcement provisions, litigation or disputes arising from the application of these Regulations would typically proceed under the Act’s enforcement framework and administrative decision-making channels. However, the source text supplied contains no reportage of court or tribunal outcomes, no recorded judicial interpretation of the new National Fundraising Principles, and no disputes over the interpretation or application of the identification badge technical requirements or the recordkeeping exemption.

Practically, lawyers and compliance professionals should note two points even though the source contains no litigation history:

• The Regulations create novel compliance pathways and conditional exemptions (notably the deemed registered fundraiser route). Absent settled jurisprudence, application of the exemptions, the scope of the National Fundraising Principles and the boundary between the Act’s provisions and the Principles could be susceptible to legal challenge or administrative review in the future. The Regulations themselves do not adjudicate those boundaries.
• The Schedule 2 National Fundraising Principles use normative language (for example never mislead, never exploit vulnerability, always explain) that may require administrative or judicial bodies to interpret standards such as "reasonable", "excessive", or "vulnerable circumstances" in enforcement or dispute contexts. The Regulations set the standards but do not record precedents on their application.

At present, because the source contains no recorded litigation, there is no case law to cite on how courts or tribunals have interpreted the Regulations’ cheek-by-jowl interaction with the Fundraising Act, the precise reach of the exemptions in reg 9B, or the enforceability of the National Fundraising Principles. Practitioners should therefore treat the Principles and exemptions as administratively novel and plan for a degree of interpretive uncertainty until authoritative decisions or regulatory guidance emerges.

This section flags traps, conditional details and likely operational pitfalls that the Regulations embed in plain statutory terms. Each item is grounded in the Regulation text and should be treated as a compliance risk or potential operational oversight for fundraisers, their advisers and compliance officers.

Narrow scope of the bereavement exclusion. Regulation 6 carves out only two narrowly worded activities as not a fundraising appeal: solicitation or receipt of money or benefit in lieu of flowers sent to a deceased person’s funeral or family during the bereavement period, and similar funds solicited by a deceased person’s family for the benefit of a person or organisation in lieu of flowers for the deceased during the bereavement period (reg 6(a)-(b)). Anything beyond that precise fact pattern , for example broader memorial funds, crowd-funded bequests, or initiatives framed as "in memory of" but not explicitly in lieu of flowers , will remain within the Act’s ambit unless separately exempted. Do not assume the exclusion applies to all bereavement-related giving.

Unique identification numbers and vehicle solicitation. If the fundraiser solicits or receives money from persons in motor vehicles on a road, the badge must display an identification number that is issued by the person conducting the appeal and unique to the individual badge-holder (reg 7(1)(c)). The issuer must keep a record linking each number to the named individual (reg 8(1)) and retain that record for at least three months after the end of the appeal to benefit from the limited exemption from s31(2) (reg 8(2)). Failure to issue unique numbers or to maintain the log for three months can expose the issuer and possibly the fundraiser to enforcement under the Act, with s31(2) carrying a higher infringement penalty according to Schedule 1.

Exemption from s31(2) is narrow and conditional. Regulation 8(2) exempts the identification-number record from section 31(2) of the Act only on condition of retaining it for at least three months after the appeal ends. The exemption is limited to that record and does not create a general recordkeeping safe harbour. If the retention condition is not met, the exemption falls away and the issuer may be liable under the Act’s s31(2) obligations and associated infringement penalty (Schedule 1 item 11 assigns 12.5 penalty units to an offence against s31(2)).

Badge presentation rules are prescriptive. Regulation 7 specifies a minimum font height of 4 millimetres and that handwritten information must be in capital letters (reg 7(2)). There is an express requirement that any optional information be no larger than mandatory information (reg 7(3)). Small lapses in badge manufacture, the use of lowercase handwritten names or omission of the required unique number when soliciting from vehicles can technically breach the Regulations.

Renewal applications require beneficiary consent or explanation. Renewal under reg 9 must include the information required under s18(2) and be accompanied by each intended beneficiary’s written consent if that beneficiary has not previously provided consent, or a written explanation of why obtaining consent is impracticable (reg 9). Practitioners must not assume that prior consent or general beneficiary lists are sufficient; if a beneficiary has not previously consented, active written consent is required or a formal explanation must be supplied.

Deemed registered fundraisers: substitution of obligations not total relief. Regulation 9B exempts deemed registered fundraisers from specified sections of the Act only if the fundraiser complies with the National Fundraising Principles (reg 9A and reg 9B). Compliance with the Principles is therefore a precondition to the exemption. The Principles themselves contain many express duties and prohibitions, including disclosure requirements about commercial fundraising arrangements and remuneration limits (Schedule 2 items 10 and 16). Some duties within the Principles potentially replicate or exceed the compliance burden created by the Act. Ensure the organisation documents compliance with every item in Schedule 2 to maintain the exemption.

Ambiguities in terms like "excessive" and "vulnerable circumstances". Several standards in the National Fundraising Principles deploy normative terms without numeric definitions, for example "not excessive" in relation to remuneration to commercial fundraisers (Schedule 2 item 16) and "vulnerable circumstances" (item 8). These require judgement calls and documentation to demonstrate compliance. Practitioners should embed quantifiable criteria in contracts and internal policies to show what "not excessive" means in context.

Disclosure before acceptance when commercial fundraisers are used. Item 10 of the Principles requires that fundraisers "Never accept a donation without having explained that they are part of an organisation that makes a profit from fundraising as well as how they are paid, if the fundraisers are commercial fundraisers engaged to fundraise for a deemed registered fundraiser." This creates a real-time donor disclosure duty prior to acceptance of a donation. Implement operational procedures to ensure fundraisers can render that disclosure and record that it occurred.

Recordkeeping obligations are multi-layered. The Principles require written records of fundraising appeals and records of total funds raised and fund application purposes (Schedule 2 items 3 and 12). At the same time the Act’s recordkeeping and reporting provisions remain in force except where an exemption is properly claimed. This means organisations must design record systems that satisfy both the Act’s statutory requirements and the Principles’ standards.

Complaints processes must be demonstrable. Item 14 of Schedule 2 requires establishing and maintaining a complaints process that allows for proper investigation and redress and encourages public contact. Mere existence of a complaints email address is unlikely to meet the item unless there is demonstrable capacity for proper investigation and remedies.

Timing restrictions on door-to-door and telephone fundraising. Item 5 prescribes prohibited times for door-to-door and telephone fundraising, including specific hours and weekend/public holiday rules. Organisational rosters, contractor instructions and telemarketing scripts must reflect these constraints; non-compliance could be treated as a Principles breach and lead to loss of the exemption under reg 9B.

Interaction with the Privacy Act. Item 15 of Schedule 2 requires compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles where the Privacy Act applies. Deemed registered fundraisers must therefore be aware of when they are covered entities under Commonwealth law and ensure collection, use and disclosure of personal data complies with those principles.

Inspection fee and public access. The inspection fee is set at $25.00 (reg 10). Although modest, failure to make records available on request subject to that fee may attract enforcement action under the Act’s inspection and production provisions.

Penalty amounts vary over time. Schedule 1 prescribes penalties via penalty units; the value of a penalty unit is set annually under the Monetary Units Act and varies. Compliance costs from infringement notices will therefore change without legislative amendment to the Regulations.

Summary. The "gotchas" are mostly compliance implementation risks due to the narrowness of certain exemptions and the prevalence of affirmative technical requirements. The National Fundraising Principles introduce a principles-based set of affirmative duties and prohibitions with some indeterminate terms that require specific internal policies, documentary evidence and operational systems to manage enforcement risk. Failure to track retention conditions, badge technical details, beneficiary consents for renewal or the Principles’ disclosure and remuneration requirements are likely to be the most common sources of regulatory exposure.

This section sets out a practical compliance checklist and recommended measures that follow directly from the Regulations. Each recommendation is tied to the relevant Regulation or Schedule provision and focused on operational implementation.

1. Badge design and issuance

• Ensure that every identifying badge issued under s9(2) of the Act complies with reg 7: prominently display the name of the person conducting the fundraising appeal and the name of the badge-holder (reg 7(1)(a)-(b)). If soliciting from persons in motor vehicles on a road, include a unique identification number issued by the fundraiser and unique to each badge-holder (reg 7(1)(c)).
• Set type specifications: all lettering and numbers on the badge must be at least 4 millimetres in height; any handwritten information must be in capital letters (reg 7(2)). Ensure optional information is no larger than the mandatory information (reg 7(3)).
• Standardise badge templates and order from a supplier who can meet the type size requirements. Maintain master templates and an approval checkpoint to prevent variations.

2. Unique identification number log and retention

• Where issuing unique identification numbers under reg 7(1)(c), maintain a secure ledger that records each unique number and the name of the person to whom it relates (reg 8(1)).
• Retain that log for at least three months after the end of the relevant fundraising appeal to benefit from the limited exemption from s31(2) (reg 8(2)). Consider retaining the log for a longer period (for example 12 months) to provide evidence in relation to possible investigations or audits. Note that the exemption is conditional on the three-month minimum retention.

3. Renewal application process

• When preparing an application to renew registration, ensure the application contains the information required under section 18(2) of the Act as required by reg 9(a). The content of s18(2) should be copied or cross-checked against the Act to ensure all required fields are included.
• Obtain written consent from each intended beneficiary of an intended appeal who has not previously provided consent, or prepare and retain a written explanation why obtaining consent is not practicable (reg 9(b)). Adopt standard consent forms and a log of consents to track who has consented and the date of consent.

4. Deemed registered fundraisers: implement the National Fundraising Principles

• If an organisation falls within the "deemed registered fundraiser" category, implement a compliance program that addresses each item in Schedule 2. Key operational actions include:
  • Donor-facing disclosure scripts and materials that explain the charity’s purpose and how funds will be applied (item 1).
  • Individual identification protocols for fundraisers that ensure each fundraiser displays identification containing their name, status (volunteer/employee/other), and the name and contact details of the deemed registered fundraiser or commercial organisation (item 2).
  • Standardised written record templates for appeals and centralised financial records that show total funds raised and the allocation of funds (items 3 and 12).
  • Donor preference and suppression mechanisms to record and act on refusals and requests not to be contacted, including unsubscribe workflows for ongoing donations (item 4).
  • Rostering and call centre scripts to ensure compliance with the restricted hours for door-to-door and telephone fundraising (item 5).
  • Training on truthful communications and avoidance of leading or misleading statements; a "no pressure" script to avoid undue pressure or unconscionable conduct (items 6 and 7).
  • Policies to identify and protect vulnerable donors, including escalation pathways and referral to appropriate services (item 8).
  • Procedures to ensure donors understand whether donations are one-off or ongoing and simple mechanisms to end ongoing donations (item 9).
  • Disclosure procedures to explain to donors when commercial fundraisers are used and how they are paid, including systems to capture that disclosure prior to acceptance of a donation (item 10).
  • Due diligence checklists and procurement processes for engaging third-party fundraisers (item 11).
  • Occupational health and safety protocols addressing the safety of fundraisers and the public while fundraising (item 13).
  • A documented complaints handling process with defined response times, investigation steps and remedies (item 14).
  • Data protection policies aligned with the Australian Privacy Principles where the Privacy Act applies (item 15).
  • Contract clauses and remuneration policies designed to ensure remuneration of commercial fundraisers is not excessive relative to the funds or goods received (item 16).

5. Contracts with commercial fundraisers

• Include express clauses that require commercial fundraisers to disclose remuneration arrangements to donors and to provide evidence of the relationship on request.
• Contractually require compliance with the National Fundraising Principles where the fundraiser is a deemed registered fundraiser relying on the exemption, including data protection, complaint handling, identification and timing restrictions.

6. Records and retention

• Maintain a comprehensive records schedule that addresses both the Act’s statutory recordkeeping requirements and the Principles’ expectations for readable written records of appeals and total funds raised. Treat the Act’s recordkeeping provisions as the baseline and ensure additional internal retention policies exceed minimum requirements where practical.
• Keep documentary evidence of donor disclosures, beneficiary consents for renewals, complaints handling files and due diligence on third parties.

7. Training and supervision

• Deliver mandatory training to employees, volunteers and contracted fundraisers covering identification, disclosure obligations, donor vulnerability indicators, how to handle ongoing donations, the timing restrictions for contact and complaint handling procedures.
• Maintain training attendance records and update training materials in line with any future guidance or regulatory change.

8. Audit and monitoring

• Conduct periodic internal compliance audits that sample badge inventories, verify unique number logs and retention periods, confirm donor disclosure occurs prior to accepting donations when commercial fundraisers are engaged, and test the complaints process.
• Keep audit reports and remediation plans to demonstrate good governance and responsiveness.

9. Inspection readiness

• Since the inspection fee is $25.00 (reg 10), assume inspections will occur. Maintain an inspection folder with required records readily available for inspection, and ensure staff know how to respond to inspection requests.

10. Penalty awareness and remediation

• Be aware which Act offences attract higher infringement penalties per Schedule 1; recordkeeping failures attract 12.5 penalty units under several entries (Schedule 1 items 5 to 12). Build processes to reduce risk of these higher-penalty infractions.
• Document remedial actions promptly if non-compliance is detected to reduce enforcement exposure.

11. Governance and board oversight

• Allocate board-level oversight of fundraising compliance. Ensure board papers and minutes record adherence to the Principles where applicable and the status of any third-party fundraising engagements.

12. Policy documentation and public-facing materials

• Update public-facing fundraising materials and donor-facing scripts to include the required disclosures about who is fundraising, whether donations support an organisation that profits from fundraising, how commercial fundraisers are paid, and how donors can end ongoing donations.

13. Engage legal and compliance advice

• Where there is uncertainty about whether an organisation is a "deemed registered fundraiser" or about the interplay between the Act and the Principles, obtain legal advice. Keep records of that advice as part of the compliance evidence base.

14. Plan for interpretive ambiguity

• Where Schedule 2 uses terms such as "not excessive" or "vulnerable circumstances", adopt clear internal criteria, thresholds and documented rationales to show how the organisation operationalises those terms.

In summary, compliance requires a combination of simple technical controls (badge templates, unique ID logs, 3 month retention), administrative process changes (renewal consents, inspection readiness), and a broader governance programme for deemed registered fundraisers that implements the National Fundraising Principles comprehensively and documents the measures taken. Operationalising ambiguous standards with quantifiable policies and documentary evidence will materially reduce enforcement risk and preserve any exemptions that the organisation relies upon.