View the latest law and policy updates, resources, webinars, training and news from our sector.
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What's in the February 2026 update?

  • Unlock DGR
  • Law and policy updates: ATO resources on Payday Super, the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations regulatory posture for 2026, changes to child safety laws, Victoria: the Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards have moved regulator 
  • Resources: Handling employment disputes, Indemnity for office holders of Victorian incorporated associations 
  • Upcoming webinars:
    • Understanding your Not-for-profit's Constitution, 26 February
    • Managing Member Disputes and Board Conflict, 12 March
    • Privacy Laws in Not-for-profits, 26 March
  • News in our sector: NSW Council of Social Service upcoming events, and Victoria: Inquiry into the 2026 summer fires 

Unlock DGR

The current Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) system is holding back thousands of charities from accessing vital funding and support - and that means local communities miss out too. In November last year, we launched our Unlock DGR campaign to call for urgent reform that modernises and simplifies how giving works in Australia.

How you can get involved

Our campaign is gaining momentum, and there are a few ways you can support our push for reform.

Attend our live panel discussion tonight (Melbourne):
If you are in Melbourne, don’t miss out on the event Fixing Australian Philanthropy: Why DGR Reform Matters tonight (25 February) at the Wheeler Centre. Justice Connect’s Clare Ozich will join Grace Adams from Effective Altruism Australia and Ryan Ginard from the Mindaroo Foundation to talk all things DGR, and about how together we can fix the system. Get tickets here.

Share your story:
If you are involved with a charity that is locked out of the benefits of DGR status, we would love to hear from you. We are gathering examples to demonstrate the unfairness of the system. Stories are a powerful motivator for action. Email Campaign Manager, Clare Ozich, at clare.ozich@justiceconnect.org.au.


Subscribe to our mailing list:
The next steps in the campaign will encourage charities to contact their local MPs to seek support for DGR reform. We’ll soon be providing template letters and practical tools to make this as easy as possible. If you haven’t already, subscribe to receive email updates about the next phase and stay involved as the campaign progresses.

Law and policy updates

ATO resources on Payday Super

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay their employees’ superannuation guarantee at the same time as their salary and wages. Organisations may currently be paying super contributions fortnightly, monthly or quarterly, so this will be a significant change that will require careful cashflow management.

The ATO has published a checklist to help employers get ready for Payday Super and employers can also download a qualifying earnings facts sheet for more detail about the types of payments used to calculate the super guarantee under Payday Super.

Keep up to date with the progress of Payday Super at ato.gov.au/paydaysuper and visit Payday Super resources for new content and previously shared videos and fact sheets.
Read more

The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations regulatory posture for 2026

The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), responsible for regulating Indigenous corporations, has published the Registrar’s regulatory posture for 2026. This outlines key responsibilities of corporations and some of ORIC's areas of focus for the coming year.
Read more

Changes to child safety laws

Changes to early childhood education and care (ECEC) are rolling out as part of the Early Childhood Legislation Amendment (Child Safety) Act 2025 (Vic).

Note that some parts of the Act apply in every state and territory. This is because, under the National Quality Framework (Australia’s system for regulating, assessing and improving the quality of early childhood education and care services), Victoria is the ‘host’ jurisdiction responsible for updating the Education and Care Services National Law on behalf of all states and territories.

The first phase of the reforms took effect nationally on 10 December 2025. Most of the amendments under the Act, applying to ECEC services across Victoria and all jurisdictions participating in the National Quality Framework, begin on 27 February 2026.
Read more

Victoria: the Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards have moved regulator

From 23 February 2026, the Social Services Regulator administers the Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme (previously run by the Commission for Children and Young People).

This means that, from 23 February, you can report allegations of reportable conduct against a child or young person by a worker or volunteer by using the Social Services Regulator’s webform on the Regulator’s website. Any reports made to the Commission before 23 February will be transferred to the Social Services Regulator. You will not need to make another report.

You can still access child safety guidance materials and resources from the Commission’s Child Safe Standards webpage and Reportable Conduct Scheme webpage.

The Commission will continue to provide independent scrutiny of service systems, including child protection, out-of-home care, and youth justice, and promote improvements in policies and practices that affect Victorian children and young people.

The Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme are now brought together with the Social Services Regulator’s existing regulatory functions, including the Social Services Standards, co-regulation of the Child Safe Standards for the social services sector, the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme, the Working with Children Check, and the NDIS Worker Screening Check.
Read more

Resources

Updated resources

Handling disputes and conflicts

Handling employment disputes

Managing risk and insurance

Indemnity for office holders of Victorian incorporated associations

Upcoming webinars

Understanding your Not-for-profit's Constitution

📅 Thursday, 26 February
🕒 12:45 - 2pm (AEDT)
💻 Online via Zoom
➡️ Register now

In this webinar, we step you through the key parts of a not-for-profit's governing document. Using examples and cases, we give you the knowledge and confidence to understand and apply your constitution. We discuss why the governing document is so important and how using it can ensure members have confidence that your not-for-profit is not only compliant, but effective and well-run.


We'll cover:

  • What is the legal status of the constitution?
  • What are the key topics addressed in a not-for-profit’s constitution?
  • Practical tips for understanding and changing your constitution
  • Where to find more resources to help in the future
Register now

Managing Member Disputes and Board Conflict

📅 Thursday, 12 March 
🕒 12:45 - 2pm (AEDT)
💻 Online via Zoom
➡️ Register now

Healthy debate helps not-for-profits thrive, but if a conflict or dispute is preventing your organisation from achieving its goals, you need the tools to handle it effectively.

Understanding the legal processes for handling disputes between members and the committee will help your organisation achieve the best outcome.

In this FREE webinar, you’ll hear about why disputes happen in not-for-profits, how to avoid them, and what the law requires of not-for-profit organisations managing conflict.

We'll cover:

  • What are some common disputes involving members and board members of not-for-profit organisations?
  • Why are these disputes often so damaging?
  • What processes are available to help resolve the dispute?
  • How can your rules/constitution help?
  • Where to go if you need more help to resolve the dispute
  • How can you prevent disputes arising in the first place?
Register now

Privacy Laws in Not-for-profits

📅 Thursday, 26 March 
🕒 12:45 - 2pm (AEDT)
💻 Online via Zoom
➡️ Register now

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale and speed of changes in this area. Media reports on data breaches continue, as do reforms to laws and regulations. Come to this popular webinar to get a privacy law refresher and help keep you and your not-for-profit up to date with the latest.

In this webinar, our lawyers will set out some of the key personal information handling obligations for not-for-profits and provide you with an easy-to-follow framework to help demystify privacy laws.

We’ll bring you up to speed on the privacy reforms with a high-level overview of the most important changes to understand and give you some pointers on key trends in data breach and regulatory priorities for the Office of the Australian Information Commission (OAIC).

We'll cover:

  • The latest on the privacy reforms
  • Current regulatory priorities and most recent data breach observations from the OAIC
  • Which privacy laws might apply to your organisation
  • The 'personal information lifecycle' and some key requirements for collection, use and disclosure of, and storage of personal information
  • Rights of individuals to access and correct data you hold about them
  • How to respond to a data breach
Register now

Customised training

Looking after your volunteers – our training can help
Have you thought about how you can better support your volunteers? Training is one of the most effective ways to build confidence, strengthen compliance, and create a safe and inclusive volunteer program.

Not-for-profit Law Training offers a range of engaging and practical sessions designed specifically for people who manage or work with volunteers. Delivered by our experienced lawyers in clear, accessible language, these sessions unpack the key legal issues that volunteer involving organisations need to know.

Our volunteer focused training includes:
  • Volunteer Safety – Understand your organisation’s safety obligations, duty of care, and how to identify and manage risks before they become problems.
  • Legal Issues in Managing a Diverse Volunteer Team – Learn how to support diversity and inclusion in your volunteer workforce while meeting your legal obligations.
  • Managing Volunteers and the Law – Get across the essential legal issues involved in engaging volunteers, from recruitment and supervision to safety, risk management and reviewing and ending a volunteer relationship. This session unpacks it all. 
Here’s what recent participants have said:

“The presenter was clear, the sessions were structured very well, and the resources provided were extremely useful for me as I review and update my organisation's volunteer program.”

“Our organisation has been running for 25 years, and we keep working to evolve and grow with the laws and requirements. Workshops like these are invaluable to Non-profit organisations growth process. Thank you.”

“Very clear information given, well-contextualised for managing/working with volunteers. I thought the case studies were really useful, prompting great conversation and expertise-sharing from the group.”

“Not-for-profit Law ran a very informative session, well timed, and covered a good level of information without overburdening us with jargon and unrelated content. Great group discussions and some great suggestions from other participants.”


News in our sector

NSW Council of Social Service upcoming events

The NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS) is holding free one-day forums for locally-based non-government organisations and networks, including government agencies and local council staff, working and volunteering in the diverse field of social services and community health.

The NCOSS Local Connect forums will explore the existing strengths of community organisations and explore solutions to shared challenges and unmet needs.


Visit the NCOSS website for more information on the upcoming events.

Victoria: Inquiry into the 2026 summer fires

A Parliamentary Inquiry into the 2026 summer fires across Victoria has been announced. Submissions are open until 15 March 2026, and the terms of reference can be found here. A report to Parliament is due by 1 June 2026.

 

© 2026 | Justice Connect

Justice Connect, PO BOX 16013 Melbourne VIC


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