Productivity Commission Inquiry into Philanthropy

Background

Government tasked the Productivity Commission (PC) with inquiring into philanthropy, with the ultimate goal of putting forward recommendations about how to increase philanthropic giving and enhance social connection through charity. This involves looking into various facets of philanthropy, including giving trends, regulatory challenges, and tax concessions. This work was prompted by the Government's commitment to doubling philanthropic donations by 2030. Stakeholders and the public were encouraged to contribute through submissions, comments, and participation in discussions. You can read more about the inquiry here.

Our submissions

GAP collaborated with Effective Altruism Australia to write a submission highlighting existing shortcomings in Australian charity law. The submission focused on how high-impact cause areas – including animal suffering and catastrophic risk – are currently not fully recognised by statutory frameworks (specifically “Deductible Gift Recipient Status”). The submission also explained how the focus of charity law has fallen out of step with the values of younger Australians, ultimately limiting the ability of organisations like Effective Altruism Australia to engage in effective community building. Finally, the submission emphasised the importance of evidence and evaluation in charity. Australian charities could achieve more good overall if regulatory frameworks incentivised impact-focused charities.

The Productivity Commission’s draft report accepted many of our arguments, including expanding Deductible Gift Recipient Status to a wider range of charities. However, the draft report was sceptical about a certain method of increasing the overall impact of the sector. In our second submission, we affirmed the PC’s support for expanding DGR status and advocated for more practical ways of evaluating and promoting charity effectiveness.

Charities for Impact

GAP understands that broad alliances are required to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. With that in mind, GAP volunteered its support and expertise to Charities for Impact. Charities for Impact is a coalition of high-impact charities, many of which are not recognised by the current DGR framework.