Fundraising in Motion

_{^{Content updated regularly. Last updated 18 February 2026}}

Moores’ Charities and Not-for-profit team created this webpage to help organisations monitor the implementation of Australia’s national fundraising principles.

Fundraising in Australia is regulated by State and Territory fundraising legislation and the Australian Consumer Law. Fundraising in Australia is notoriously complex, as each State and Territory has its own unique fundraising legislation and definition of what constitutes ‘fundraising’. Fundraising without the necessary approval may be an offence – both for the organisation and individuals involved.

In February 2023 the Federal Government announced that agreement had been reached about a set of nationally consistent fundraising principles which will be used to streamline and harmonise fundraising requirements in each State and Territory (‘the Principles’).

All States and Territories are in the process of implementing the Principles, including repealing or ‘switching off’ local fundraising rules so that a charity, no matter where it fundraises, will only need to comply with the Principles. The following table sets out the present status for each State and Territory.

To be notified when further changes are implemented please sign up here.

State and Territory Status

ACT | NSW | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA | NT

Australian Capital Territory

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Charitable Collections Act 2003 (ACT) and Charitable Collections Regulation 2003 (ACT)	On 7 March 2024, the ACT released its implementation plan (which is no longer publicly accessible). The plan noted that the ACNC intends to implement the national fundraising principles in the second half of 2024.	Amendments (effective 16 July 2024) made to the Act and Regulations by Parts 3 and 4 of the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Act 2024. See also the Explanatory Statement to the Bill.	Yes – switched off Parts 4 and 5 of the Act for ‘deemed’ fundraisers (i.e. ACNC registered charities).

The amendments amended the Charitable Collections Act 2003 (ACT) to:

• create a deemed licence regime for ACNC registered charities – all ACNC registered charities are now deemed to hold a fundraising licence in the ACT. This replaces the previous provisions which exempted ACNC registered charities from holding a collections licence;
• provide that part 4 (other than sections 34 to 38) and part 5 of the Charitable Collections Act do not apply to deemed licences. These parts relate to applying for a collections licence (which is not required for deemed licences), retaining financial records and annual reporting. As the ACNC already places obligations on ACNC registered charities to retain financial records and report annually these requirements were considered to be duplicative and unnecessary;
• clarify the definition of who the licensee is in specific circumstances (e.g. where the licensee is an unincorporated body);
• make compliance with the National Fundraising Principles an automatic condition on a collections licence in the ACT; and
• empower the director-general to amend, suspend or cancel a licence where they are satisfied on reasonable grounds that a breach of the National Fundraising Principles has occurred.

New South Wales

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 (NSW) and Charitable Fundraising Regulation 2015 (NSW)	On 31 March 2025, NSW released its proposed implementation plan.	On 28 January 2026, the Governor of NSW also proclaimed that the Customer Service Legislation Amendment Act 2024, which passed both houses in February 2024, will come into force on 1 April 2026. The NSW Parliament passed the Customer Service Legislation Amendment Regulation 2026 on 3 February 2026, which will also take effect on 1 April 2026.	While significant sections of the fundraising laws in NSW are switched off for ‘deemed authority holders’, they must still comply with the standard conditions of an authority in New South Wales (with some exemptions).

The amendments will amend the Charitable Fundraising Act and Charitable Fundraising Regulations to:

• provide that all authority holders must comply with both the standard conditions set out in Schedule 1 of the Charitable Fundraising Regulations for conducting appeals (noting that these are subject to some amendment) and the National Principles; and
• exempt ‘deemed authority’ holders from administrative requirements including notification, reporting and record keeping obligations in the Charitable Fundraising Act as well as some obligations under the standard conditions set out in Schedule 1 of the Charitable Fundraising Regulations.

Deemed authority holders’ within the meaning of the Charitable Fundraising Act are registered charities who have given notice to the ACNC Commissioner of their intention to conduct a fundraising appeal in New South Wales (or who have previously held fundraising authorities in New South Wales).

Queensland

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Collections Act 1966 (QLD) and Collections Regulation 2008 (Qld)	QLD released its implementation plan in November 2023, noting it intends to amend the Collections Regulation 2008 (Qld) to apply the Principles and repeal existing conduct provisions. No timeframe for implementation is provided in the plan.	Draft legislation has not yet been prepared.	No.

The implementation plan notes that the following action will be taken:

• incorporating the Principles to the extent possible in the current legislation;
• prescribing conduct requirements consistent with the Principles in the Collections Regulation 2008 (Qld) to replace the current conditions; and
• reviewing the existing legislation to address any coverage gaps.

South Australia

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Collections for Charitable Purposes Act 1939 (SA)	SA has not released a formal implementation plan but has replaced its Charities Code of Practice with the National Fundraising Principles.	Charities in SA have been required to comply with the national fundraising principles from 1 March 2024.	Largely, yes. Some parts of the Collections for Charitable Purposes Act 1939 (SA) still apply to charities.

The amendments:

• replaced the previous fundraising rules, set out in the South Australia Charities Code of Practice, with the National Fundraising Principles; and
• did not repeal disclosure requirements under the Collections for Charitable Purposes Act 1939 (SA).

Tasmania

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Collections for Charities Act 2001 (Tas) and Collections for Charities Regulations 2011 (Tas)	Tasmania has not released a formal implementation plan but did introduce legislation in September 2023 to amend its fundraising laws.	On 5 November 2025, the Tasmanian Government introduced the Charities and Associations Law (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025. It contains the same content as the 2024 version of the Bill which lapsed at prorogation in June 2025.	No (though, if passed, the bill will largely repeal local fundraising laws for registered charities).

Victoria

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
Fundraising Act 1998 (Vic) and Fundraising Regulations 2019 (Vic)	On 1 March 2024, Victoria released its fundraising implementation plan. The ‘immediate response’ has been completed by regulatory change. The ‘vision for the future’ (to be achieved by 2025) involves more substantive changing, requiring Ministerial approval and a Bill to be drafted and passed by Parliament.	The Fundraising Amendment (National Fundraising Principles) Regulations 2024 commenced on 3 July 2024.	Switched off sections 9-12B of the Fundraising Act for ‘deemed registered fundraisers’.

The amendments amended the Fundraising Regulations 2019 (Vic) to:

• provide that deemed registered fundraisers (being ACNC registered charities) must comply with the National Principles when conducting fundraising appeals (new regulation 9A);
• exempt deemed registered fundraisers from sections 9-12B of the Fundraising Act 1998 (Vic), which relate to identification badges for collectors, collection receptacles, and the disclosure of the dollar amount or percentage for funds received for goods or services that is provided to beneficiaries (new regulation 9B); and
• insert the Principles (new Schedule 2).

The provisions only apply to ‘deemed registered fundraisers’ within the meaning of the Fundraising Act. This means that:

• the provisions only apply to those registered charities who have given notice to the Director of CAV of their intention to conduct a fundraising appeal in Victoria. Registered charities who are registered fundraisers but have not given notice (for example, those that held a fundraising licence prior to August 2020) should consider notifying the CAV through myCAV of their charity registration so as to benefit from the exemption from sections 9-12B of the Fundraising Act; and
• a commercial fundraiser (even if they are engaged by a ‘deemed registered fundraiser’) will not be exempt from sections 9-12B of the Fundraising Act.

Western Australia

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities
Charitable Collections Act 1946 (WA)	On 7 August 2024, Western Australia released its fundraising implementation plan. No timeframe for implementation is provided in the plan.	The Charitable Collections Amendment Bill 2025 passed through both houses of parliament on 20 November 2025. It will come into effect upon proclamation. The Honourable Tony Buti has noted that it is likely that the reforms will come into effect in full in the first half of 2026.	Largely, yes. Some parts of the Collections for Charitable Collections Act 1946 (WA) still apply to charities.

Once in force, the amendments to the Charitable Collections Act 1946 (WA) will:

• provide that an ACNC registered charity will be deemed to hold a fundraising licence on provision of a notice to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection (Commissioner);
• replace WA’s Voluntary Code of Practice with mandatory national fundraising principles that are taken to be a condition of holding a licence in WA;
• allow conditions to be applied to ensure that a deemed licence is only valid while the holder complies with:
  • conduct and reporting obligations applying to its ACNC registration; and
  • additional conditions imposed by the Commissioner;
• permit the Commissioner to enter information sharing agreements with the ACNC to facilitate the ACNC providing information regarding registrations deemed for the purposes of the Act to the Commissioner at their request.

Northern Territory

Legislation	Released an implementation plan?	Implemented the national fundraising principles?	Repealed or switched off all local fundraising laws for charities?
The NT does not currently regulate charitable fundraising.	N/A	N/A	N/A

We can help you

Our Charities and Not-for-Profit team works with organisations of all sizes to navigate the complex and changing fundraising landscape. We can assist with:

• Advising on fundraising compliance across all Australian states and territories, including National Fundraising Principles implementation.
• Interpreting and applying law changes so you understand what they mean for your organisation in practical terms.
• Reviewing fundraising policies, procedures, and appeal materials to ensure they meet current legal requirements.
• Providing training and updates for boards and staff on fundraising obligations and best practice.
• Supporting multi-jurisdictional campaigns, helping you streamline compliance where rules differ.

Subscribe to our updates

After filling in the form below, you will be subscribed to receive our Fundraising Legislation updates including webinar invitations, relevant resources and legislation changes.