Labor has questioned whether Peter Dutton’s GoFundMe page in support of flood-affected communities may have breached Queensland fundraising laws, where individuals are required to seek state government approval for any one-off fundraising appeal.
Dutton and fellow Liberal MP Luke Howarth sparked an online backlash for setting up GoFundMe pages in the wake of the floods, with criticism the assistance should be provided by the government instead of through community fundraising.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has defended Dutton’s fundraising efforts saying he was surprised at the backlash and Dutton was like any MP “doing their job”.
But Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh questioned whether Dutton’s fundraiser may be in breach of Queensland regulations as he highlighted the need for reform of Australia’s “outdated” fundraising laws.
According to the Queensland office of fair trading, organisations and individuals can fundraise for a charitable purpose for “one-off charitable appeals” but must apply for a sanction.
“If you want to fundraise for a charitable or community purpose on a one-off basis, you need to apply for a ‘sanction’,” the office states. “A sanction is your permit to fundraise.
“We must give approval before you can fundraise. It is an offence to fundraise in Queensland without our approval.”
The regulation states that a charitable purpose includes the supply of aid and support for someone who is affected by a natural disaster or other emergency. The regulation also applies to internet-based fundraisers.
A spokesperson for the office of fair trading said that GoFundMe pages linked to an already registered charity would not require authorisation, nor would a GoFundMe that was clearly set up for someone’s personal benefit and was advertised as such.
But in general, authorisation for online appeals is required to try to protect against the proliferation of scam appeals and to ensure funds are used as intended.
“Where concerns are raised, the office of fair trading may in the first instance reach out to the promoter of the appeal and provide advice on the requirements of the Act and the process for obtaining an authority to fundraise,” the spokesperson said.
A parliamentary inquiry on charity fundraising in the 21st century and the royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements recommended a review of Australian fundraising laws, which charities said can hamper their ability to fundraise for natural disaster assistance.
Leigh said the example highlighted the fact that regulations governing Australian charities often hamstring fundraising efforts, and that organisations had been “pleading with the Coalition to fix Australia’s outdated fundraising laws”.
“A bipartisan Senate report and a royal commission have called for action, yet the Morrison government has failed to act,” Leigh said.
“Complying with these laws is costing charities over $1m a month and making it harder for charities to help when natural disasters strike.”
The royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements highlighted the proliferation of fundraising through social media and online channels and the “regulatory compliance issues” arising from it.
It said this was an issue “particularly for individuals and small organisations which may not be aware that they need to apply for a licence or register”.
“There is scope to improve community awareness and education of fundraising requirements and for charities and fundraising platforms to more transparently communicate the limitations on how donated funds can be used,” the report said.
Dutton’s office did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia.
After the 2019-2020 black summer bushfires, concerns were raised about the vast number of online fundraising appeals and the potential for scammers to be exploiting fundraisers for personal gain, with more than 500 scams reported to the ACCC.
Comedian Celeste Barber’s mammoth $51m Facebook fundraiser also ran into legal problems, when she was unable to distribute funds to anyone other than the NSW Rural Fire Service.
The royal commission found that some localised fundraising efforts “appeared to lack an understanding of relevant legal frameworks, best practice on raising funds and limitations on the dispersal of funds”.
The commission recommended that fundraising laws be reformed, with the hodge-podge of state regulations replaced with “a single national scheme for the regulation of charitable fundraising”.
