Sector News
New ACNC Guidance on Governing Documents
In its latest release, the ACNC has named its 2026-27 regulatory focus areas: governing documents (the constitution or rules) and the partnerships charities rely on to deliver their work. Commissioner Sue Woodward AM stated that a governing document is a charity's "north star”.
Although the ACNC regulates only charities, its comments are pertinent to all associations and the same principles apply.
The governing document sets out purpose, decision-making frameworks and member rights. When a governing document is unclear or no longer reflects what an association actually does today, it can create internal confusion and even regulatory risk for the association.
We encounter this often in our work at Governology. An association’s activities evolve but the constitution still describes the organisation as it was many years ago. The ACNC's release is a prompt to do the constitutional housekeeping that is often left on the back-burner. A modern, clearly written governing document makes member rights clearer and provides a robust framework for decision-making.
A governing document also plays a key role in transparency. The document is provided to the ACNC as part of charity registration and published on the Charity Register, which the ACNC says "helps supporters, donors, volunteers and members of the public understand your charity's purpose and governance arrangements", facilitating trust in the sector.
Drafting and updating constitutions is work that we do almost every day at Governology. Given the ACNC's 2026-27 focus on governing documents, if your constitution hasn't been reviewed recently, now is a great time to reach out.