Governing Not-for-Profit Organisations 730822

Some background in basic principles of corporations law and taxation law desirable

A candidate who has successfully completed the subject should:

Have a sound understanding of the existing regulatory framework for not-for-profit organisations, including associations, corporate, trust and tax laws, and how this framework both differs from and overlaps with business organisations
Have a good understanding of the role and diversity of the not-for-profit sector as a third sector in the Australian economy
Have an appreciation of unique challenges facing those who govern notfor- profit organisations, compared with for-profit organisations
Have a good understanding of the regulatory challenges of this diverse sector, including the policy elements of a regulatory environment that might be conducive to an accountable and healthy not-for-profit sector.

Principal topics will include:

Definitional complexity concerning not-for-profit organisations, including charities and PBI
Sector composition: Size, purpose, diversity
Range of available legal structures: Why each legal structure is used and what the consequences of choosing a particular structure are
Overview of regulatory theory underpinning the design of not-for-profit organisations
Governance issues: Directors’ duties, contrast with for-profit context
Overview of the taxation rules for not-for-profit organisations
An overview of the current State and national regulatory framework in the context of key policy objectives and major inquiries (1995, 2001)
Future reform direction drawing on overseas models.

Shelley Marshall

Melbourne Law School The Melbourne Law Masters