Standardised Contracts Slash Red Tape For SA NFPs
18 January 2019 at 4:54 pm
The South Australian not-for-profit sector is celebrating the roll out of standardised government funding contracts after years of negotiations, significantly slashing red tape requirements for organisations.
The South Australian Council of Social Services (SACOSS) said by standardising contract templates, NFPs would receive fairer funding, and would save time and money on what it described as an inconsistent and onerous process.
The new contract templates replace the former two-step process, and reduce the need for legal checks and potential disputes over basic terms.
SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley said the new contracts would make it simpler for organisations to deliver services to the people who needed it most, and remove vague and intrusive clauses which constrained the independence of the sector.
“We are confident that the new standardised contract templates will provide significant red tape reduction for our sector because the contract conditions will be the same regardless of which department or agency is providing the funding,” Womersley said.
The new contracts were approved after two years of negotiations between sector representatives and the state government.
Evelyn O’Loughlin, Volunteering SA and NT CEO, and chair of the NFP sector/government working group, said after such a long negotiation process, the roll out was good news for the sector.
“Negotiation of these contracts began under the former government and the incoming government promised to complete the process and implement the new contracts – which they now have,” O’Loughlin said.
“The finalisation of these standardised contracts is a significant milestone of reform which we want to acknowledge.”
Womersley encouraged NFPs in other states and territories to engage government on the issue to make their life easier.
“We absolutely would encourage all of the states and territories to review what has happened in this jurisdiction and to look at the ease of its applicability and to explore the capacity to implement similar measures in their own jurisdictions,” he said.
