Mr WETTENHALL (15 March 2007) (5.05 pm): It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to rise in support of the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2006. It has been very interesting to listen to the debate from members on both sides of the House, revealing how deeply connected so many members are with their electorates and with the vast range of community organisations and incorporated associations that make up the rich fabric of our local communities.

Like many thousands of fellow Queenslanders, I have been involved as a volunteer and as a committee member in a number of community organisations. In fact, in the early 1990s I, with a group of other people in Cairns, set up the Cairns Community Legal Centre. In due course that organisation became incorporated. As well as helping thousands of people from the Cairns area with free legal advice over the years, it has also helped a number of other community organisations become established and assisted with their incorporation. Organisations breed further organisations. That is perhaps something that is at the heart of the phenomenal growth we have seen over the past few years with incorporated associations.

One of the bugbears that has always been prominent in all of those associations has been the legal requirement to appoint an auditor every year and pay for the auditor's services. In many cases it has been an unnecessary administrative and financial burden on the already difficult job of running a not-for-profit organisation. In that context I am talking about organisations, the vast majority of which do have as one of their objectives running as a not-for-profit organisation.

Auditors' fees vary widely depending on the complexity of the audit that is undertaken. There is no doubt that for many associations annual audit fees have been a significant expense, often out of all proportion to the level of financial business transacted and the assets of the association. The relaxation of those audit requirements for associations with total revenue of $20,000 or less will assist the vast majority of the organisations, most of which have objectives that do not include trading for profit.

Some people may consider that the money saved would be relatively insignificant, but most people who have been involved in a community based organisation will understand that raising funds is difficult at the best of times, let alone when a chunk of those funds are swallowed up in complying with government red tape. That is one of the best aspects of this bill-that it sweeps away the impost of government red tape.

With more than 20,000 incorporated associations registered in Queensland, the bill introduces a tiered reporting system that recognises, as has been mentioned by the minister and others, that one size does not fit all.

Level 1 associations with total revenue or assets exceeding $100,000 will, quite properly and appropriately, continue to be fully audited without any change to the current requirements. All associations with total assets and revenue of less than $100,000 but more than $20,000 will be classified as level 2 associations and will be exempt from providing compulsory, fully audited statements. Instead, those associations must provide an annual statement from a registered accountant confirming that their organisation's books have been kept in a manner consistent with good accounting practice. Level 3 associations with revenue and assets of $20,000 or less will only be required to lodge a statement by the president or treasurer that the books have been kept properly. As a result of these amendments, some 80 per cent of the associations will benefit from these relaxed requirements.

The other key reform introduced by the bill is the removal of the mandatory requirement for an association to hold public liability insurance except in cases where the association owns or leases property or are trustees of land under the Land Act 1994. Until now many associations faced potential oblivion because they could not afford or were not able to obtain public liability insurance for any number of reasons. There have been several of those in my electorate. In some cases the cost of public liability insurance was prohibitively high, forcing associations to pay huge sums for insurance that they did not require. Some associations have had to cease or suspend their activities. As a result of the reforms that this government has introduced, that situation has now much improved. The bill will, nevertheless, deliver significant cost savings to smaller organisations whose activities carry a low risk of attracting legal liability.

Under the reforms, the management committees themselves will be obliged to consider whether public liability insurance is needed. The committee is then required to report its decision to its members and to advise others who might be affected by its activities whether or not it has public liability insurance. There will be many hundreds of organisations whose activities do not present any risk at all to their members or to others who take advantage of the activities that the group undertakes. These groups will benefit from the amendment making public liability insurance optional for many, many associations.

Members of the associations and their committees will bring their knowledge, experience, judgement and common sense to bear in undertaking a realistic and thorough assessment of the risks of injury, loss and damage posed by carrying out their activities and in deciding whether it is prudent to obtain public liability insurance cover. Those in the best position to judge these issues are the people who run the organisations themselves. They have the experience, knowledge and, most importantly, they will exercise their judgement with the best interests of their association at heart. This is a far better system, removing a one-size-fits-all requirement that has, in the past, been the downfall of some organisations and has crippled others, forcing them into hibernation.

The bill also introduces a number of other amendments that will make dispute resolution simpler and the administration of the organisation more straightforward. In particular, the relaxed quorum requirements are welcome and will facilitate a number of those smaller organisations to conduct validly constituted meetings without having to have meetings deferred which only makes it more frustrating and inconvenient for people who do turn up as they have to come again. That is an important amendment. So, too, is the amendment that will facilitate people to participate validly in meetings by telephone or other electronic device. In this modern age that is overdue and is a welcome reform. It will be of particular benefit to members of organisations in rural and regional areas who would otherwise have to travel long distances in order to participate in meetings.

For the many sporting clubs, artistic and cultural societies, political and religious associations, charitable groups, youth groups, environment groups and any number of voluntary and community based organisations, these amendments will be very welcome. Not only will they save valuable funds and time; they will also relieve people of the burden of raising money to comply with unnecessary red tape, using the resources instead to pursue the objectives of their organisation.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to all of the people who volunteer in the hundreds and hundreds of community based organisations and associations around this state. They do a fantastic job. They give generously of their time, experience and in many cases they open their wallets as well as their hearts. At a time when governments around the country, including the government in Queensland, are looking to and relying upon incorporated associations to partner government in the delivery of community services, these reforms are timely and particularly welcome. I congratulate the minister and the people involved in the consultations that have taken place and I commend the bill to the House.