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What are the obligations of an organisation where fundraising is conducted and the organisation is not required to hold a license?
The regulation of fundraising can be broken down into two key elements:
- A person or organisation may require a licence to conduct fundraising activities.
- Fundraising activities may need to comply with certain conduct and record keeping obligations. Some of these requirements only apply to holders of a licence – other requirements apply even if you are not required to hold a licence.
Fundraising activities in a state or territory may not require a licence due to the operation of an exemption, however the conduct and recording keeping obligations under fundraising laws may still apply to the fundraising activities.
In general:
- in New South Wales, while most of the obligations relating to conducting a ‘fundraising appeal’ apply only to ‘authority holders’, certain obligations apply to all fundraising appeals such as those relating to the keeping of records and false representations
- in Victoria, a number of obligations apply to ‘fundraising appeals’ which don’t require registration, including obligations dealing with identification of collectors, use of collection tins and certain disclosure obligations
- in South Australia, most obligations – other than the National Fundraising Principles, apply to ‘collectors’ including obligations dealing with identification of collectors, advertising of entertainment events, unattended collection boxes and certain disclosure obligations
- in Queensland, most obligations apply regardless of whether the organisation conducting the ‘appeal for support’ is required to obtain a sanction or be a locally registered charity
- in Western Australia and the ACT, fundraising laws are inapplicable to activities which are exempt from licensing – however, activities must still comply with other laws (see below).
See What are the obligations of an organisation (not registered as a charity with the ACNC) with a fundraising license? for a summary of some of the key obligations as well as our guide to fundraising laws in Australia.
Other laws
Apart from fundraising laws, other laws and regulations may still apply including:
- local government requirements – which may impact on doorknocking and face to face fundraising
- Australian Consumer Law and other laws prohibit the use of misleading, deceptive and otherwise dishonest conduct
- Telecommunications and media laws – which impact on use of telephone and email
View our guide to fundraising laws in Australia for more information.
The content on this webpage was last updated in May 2026 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
