New ACNC commissioner to be appointed by year’s end

If you’re waiting for the ACNC commissioner to be announced, you might need to hang in there a little bit longer, with the new charities chief likely to be appointed in December, acting commissioner Deborah Jenkins reveals in a new interview with Pro Bono News.

A permanent Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) commissioner won’t be appointed until December this year.

Speaking to Pro Bono News, acting commissioner Deborah Jenkins revealed she will remain in the role until the end of this year and help ensure a smooth transition for her replacement, who is yet to be named.

Jenkins, who has led the ACNC since the start of August, was appointed to the role until 31 October or until a new commissioner is selected.

“We’ll welcome a new commissioner in 2023, which will be very exciting,” said Jenkins. “I will be around until December.

“The assistant minister has said that he hopes to have the new commissioner, the permanent commissioner, in place by the end of the year. So I’m looking forward to managing a good transition across to the new commissioner and making sure that they are set up for success.”

In August, Pro Bono News exclusively revealed the Treasury-appointed selection panel responsible for appointing the new commissioner, which includes the Treasury’s secretary Dr Steven Kennedy and deputy secretary Jenny Wilkinson and inaugural ACNC commissioner Susan Pascoe AM.

Treasury reiterated to Pro Bono News the appointment is expected to be made by the end of the year, but declined to address the cause of the minor delays or give a more precise timeline for the announcement. 

“Ms Deborah Jenkins is the acting ACNC Commissioner until the position is filled on a permanent basis,” wrote Treasury to Pro Bono News.

“The government has undertaken an open and transparent process to select the next ACNC commissioner and expects to announce the appointment of the next ACNC commissioner by the end of the year.

“Appointments of the ACNC commissioner are made by the Governor-General, as per the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, on the advice of the government.”

ACNC priorities in 2023

Jenkins has used the past four months to advocate for a collaborative approach across the sector – a focus that remains just as relevant as community organisations wrestle with the COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living pressures, challenges to accessing volunteers and a fatigued workforce.

“I think the key thing that I’d really like to emphasise in a post-COVID world is the importance of engaging with our stakeholders and really great consultation. That is a clear focus of the ACNC for 2023,” said Jenkins.

“As we move through these challenging times, the public having confidence in the charity sector is going to be so important. I think 2023 is a time when we can come together physically and metaphorically, and work together to think about how we can continue to build for the future.”

Looking ahead, Jenkins said the charity regulator will be “going back to basics” to help the sector prioritise robust, manageable and clear governance and record keeping in 2023.

“A lot of our focus continues to be on education in the new year – how do we help people have the tools to get it right. We’ll continue to do our two per cent review of the DGR endorsed charities that the government asked us to do.”

“A couple of other things that we will work on are related party transactions, which we are consulting on at the moment… We’ll continue also with our focus on the CISs [Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements] and we’ll be continuing to work with our consultation groups to make sure that the advice that we’ve got out there is fit for purpose.

“Things we’ve been thinking about are things like founder syndrome. So how do we make sure that people who are so intrinsically connected to the business have the tools to ensure there continues to be really good governance.

“The final point I would say is advocacy… our job is to make sure that people are really clear about what they can and can’t do, and [to] work with them to remind them where the rules are facing.

“We’re really excited about 2023. December marks our 10th anniversary, we opened for business on the third of December 2012, and I think it’s a really wonderful opportunity to reflect on our purpose, and also to work with the charity sector about plotting the course for the next decade,” concluded Jenkins.