I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country across the many lands from which this forum is being recorded and attended. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people joining us today.
It's a pleasure to join you virtually for this important gathering. I'm grateful to the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission for convening the Governing for Good Forum, and to everyone here - charity leaders, board members, advisers, regulators and advocates - for the work you do to ensure our not‑for‑profit sector remains strong, trusted and future‑ready. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of the ACNC: Commissioner Sue Woodward AM and her assistant commissioners, Natasha Sekulic and Cate Bennett. Supporting them is the Advisory Board, chaired by Sarah Davies AM with Sara Harrup as Deputy Chair. The Board also includes General Members Myles McGregor‑Lowndes OAM, Ian Hamm, Anna Bacik, David Crosbie, Rosa Loria, Nick Maisey and ex‑officio members from the states and territories. With this depth of expertise, the ACNC is exceptionally well placed to guide Australia's charity sector through these complex times.
In a country where 1 in 10 workers is employed in a charity, and millions volunteer, the governance of not‑for‑profits is not a side conversation. It's a national concern. Governance is what connects trust to impact. It's how the sector earns its legitimacy, defends its independence and drives change.
This forum comes at a critical moment - not just for charities, but for the nation. Australia is in a period of social and economic transformation. From artificial intelligence to fiscal constraint, from shifting demographics to climate shocks, the operating environment is changing fast. The pressures are real, but so too is the opportunity to shape a more inclusive, resilient and connected economy.
Charities will feel these changes. But they will also help lead the response.
That's why this forum matters. It brings together the people who govern our sector with those who regulate and support it. And it does so with a shared purpose: to ensure that governance is not just about avoiding failure, but enabling success.
Working in the charity sector means you need to be fluent in acronyms, fundraising platforms and the mystical art of writing a mission statement that fits on a mug.
WomBot and the frontline of innovation
At the Technology for Social Justice Conference earlier this year, one of the most talked‑about presentations came from Wombat Housing. They had a problem familiar to many community organisations: after‑hours demand, stretched resources and an urgent need to make support more accessible.
Their solution? A conversational AI tool called WomBot. Designed with care and purpose, WomBot now handles thousands of after‑hours queries, directing clients to appropriate services and freeing up frontline workers to focus on complex needs. Eighty‑four per cent of users prefer starting with it. That's not just clever tech. That's governance and innovation working hand in hand.
The lesson? Good governance doesn't resist innovation. It channels it. It ensures that new tools serve the mission, not the other way around. And it does so in a way that builds, rather than erodes, public trust.
What the ACNC stands for
The Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission is grounded in 3 statutory objects: to enhance public trust and confidence in the sector, to reduce red tape, and to support a robust, vibrant, and innovative sector.
That middle goal - reducing red tape - matters. The best governance systems are those that enable, not entangle. But today I want to focus more on the first and third goals: trust and innovation. Because in times of change, those 2 must work in concert.
When communities are dealing with economic strain, when information ecosystems are polarised, and when technological change is accelerating, trust doesn't maintain itself. It must be earned and re‑earned. Governance is how we do that.
And innovation? That's how we stay relevant. But only if we embed it in clear purpose, strong oversight and a willingness to learn.
That's why the work of the ACNC, and forums like this one, are so essential. They help build clarity around what good governance looks like in the real world - not in abstract models, but in the messy mission‑driven under‑resourced world that many of you operate in every day.
They also create space for something too often overlooked: peer learning. From boardrooms in Broome to budget meetings in Bairnsdale, Australia's 60,000 charities are wrestling with similar issues. This forum helps turn those experiences into collective insight.
Governance in a time of economic change
Australia is undergoing a profound economic transformation. Productivity growth has slowed. Pressures on the budget are mounting. Geopolitical uncertainty is rising. But alongside these challenges is an opportunity - to redesign the economy in ways that are more inclusive, more climate‑resilient, more responsive to community need.
For the charity sector, that transformation is twofold. First, it affects you directly. Changing workforce patterns, shifting donor expectations, increasing demand for services and new forms of accountability are altering how organisations operate.
Second, it places you at the centre of the national response. Whether it's climate adaptation, mental health, food security, education or housing - charities are not on the sidelines. You are central to how Australia manages change.
But to lead that response, you need systems that support adaptation. And that's where governance comes in.
Governance is the bridge between principle and practice. It's how an organisation ensures that its decisions reflect its values, its risks are understood, its resources are well used and its people are treated with respect.
And governance isn't static. It evolves.
Governance manuals are like gym memberships - we all like having one, but real progress comes from turning up regularly and doing the work.
A brief history of governance innovation
In moments of disruption, charities have often led the way in rethinking what good governance looks like.
In the 19th century, friendly societies and cooperatives emerged to fill gaps left by government and markets. These weren't just service providers. They were laboratories of democratic participation. Their governance models featured member voting, mutual accountability and transparent ledgers - long before digital transparency was a thing.
In the postwar decades, as the welfare state expanded, community organisations developed new ways of managing boards, engaging with constituents and demonstrating effectiveness. What we now consider standard practice in governance often originated in those years.
From the 1970s onward, grassroots movements led by women, First Nations peoples, and migrant communities shaped governance models that were culturally safe, lived‑experience‑informed and deliberately inclusive. They challenged top‑down models and expanded our understanding of what legitimacy and leadership mean.
And none of these innovations came from regulation. They came from within the sector, as a response to real‑world change.
The ACNC Act recognises that. It doesn't micromanage governance. It supports it. It protects the sector's ability to evolve, while ensuring that public trust is maintained.
That approach is more important now than ever.
Cool.org and the frontiers of service design
Let me give another example of how governance and innovation interact.
Cool.org recently developed an AI‑powered lesson planning tool to support overstretched teachers. At a time when three‑quarters of educators report their workload as unmanageable, this tool helps restore balance while preserving professional agency.
It's a classic case of technology used well: respectful of expertise, focused on impact and grounded in the day‑to‑day reality of frontline work. But it also raises governance questions: How is the AI trained? How are users informed? How is feedback incorporated?
These days, every second conference promises to explore the intersection of AI and ethics. I'm still waiting for one that explores the intersection of AI and fixing the office printer.
Answering those questions isn't an administrative burden. It's how trust is built.
Governance as ethical adaptation
Whether it's AI in housing support, digital tools in education or data analytics in environmental advocacy, new technologies are reshaping the terrain. Some of the biggest questions facing boards in the next decade won't be about compliance. They'll be about design.
Can we use AI to reach more people without sacrificing human connection?
Can we manage data responsibly while also drawing insights to drive policy?
Can we stay nimble without becoming reactive?
Strategic planning in 2025 often feels like trying to write a 5‑year map with a 2‑month weather forecast.
These are questions of governance. And they're urgent.
Let me share a third example: Clean Up Australia. By using AI to analyse the enormous dataset generated by tens of thousands of volunteer clean‑ups, they're transforming grassroots energy into policy‑grade evidence.
That's not just an efficiency gain. It's a new form of legitimacy. It shows how data can speak with community voice, if governed well.
But again, it only works if the systems behind it are thoughtful, ethical and accountable.
The ACNC's role in a changing landscape
In supporting governance that is both principled and adaptive, the ACNC plays a crucial role.
It helps ensure that regulatory expectations are clear, proportionate and focused on outcomes.
It provides guidance to help charities navigate uncertainty without feeling paralysed by it.
It supports forums like this one, where the wisdom of practitioners can inform national direction.
And it does so with a commitment to independence, integrity and partnership.
This doesn't mean the ACNC is the sole source of guidance. Legal and accounting professionals, philanthropic funders, sector networks and peak bodies all contribute. But the Commission plays a unique role in setting the tone for governance across the sector.
That tone matters. If governance is seen as a box‑ticking exercise, we will get minimal compliance. If it's seen as a form of stewardship, we get trust, adaptation and long‑term effectiveness.
The transformation is twofold
Let me close by returning to the broader context.
The transformation underway in Australia isn't just a backdrop to your work. It is reshaping the kinds of problems the sector tackles, and how you go about tackling them.
It's changing how you recruit and retain staff. How you relate to government. How you partner with business. How you demonstrate value. How you navigate risk.
And it is doing so at pace.
That's why forums like this matter. They offer time to reflect amid speed. Clarity amid complexity.
The transformation, as I see it, is twofold. It will challenge the sector. And it will rely on the sector.
The more charities can adapt, the more communities can cope. The more transparent you are, the more trust you build. The more you learn from each other, the more resilient we all become.
That's why governance matters. And that's why the ACNC's role is so critical.
Thank you for everything you do to ensure that Australia's not‑for‑profit sector remains not just compliant, but courageous - not just efficient, but ethical - not just well‑governed, but well‑trusted.
And thank you for being part of this national effort to govern for good.
