New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHARITABLE FUNDRAISING ACT 1991 - SECT 20

20 Proceeds of appeal

(1) Any money or benefit received in the course of a fundraising appeal conducted by the holder of an authority is to be applied according to the objects or purposes represented by or on behalf of the persons conducting the appeal as the purposes or objects of the appeal.

(2) Subsection (1) does not operate:

(a) so as to prevent the deduction of lawful and proper expenses in accordance with the authority under which the appeal is conducted, or

(b) so as to prejudice the operation of the Dormant Funds Act 1942 or of any Act or other law relating to the cy-pres application or other application of trust money.

(3) The regulations may specify, or make provision for or with respect to the determination (by the decision of the Minister or otherwise) of, what constitutes a lawful and proper expense in connection with particular fundraising appeals or any class or description of fundraising appeals or fundraising appeals generally.

(4) Any relevant Act or other law relating to the cy-pres application or other application of trust money applies to any money (not being trust money) that is subject to subsection (1).

(5) Money or any benefit received in the course of a fundraising appeal may be applied outside New South Wales, except to the extent that:

(a) to apply it in that way would contravene subsection (1) or any other law, or

(b) the Minister, having regard to the public interest, prohibits the application of any such money or benefit by a condition of an authority authorising the appeal concerned.

(6) Any money received in the course of a fundraising appeal, before the deduction of any expenses, is to be paid immediately into an account at a bank, building society or credit union or at any other institution prescribed (or of a class prescribed) by the regulations. The account is to consist only of money raised in the fundraising appeal concerned, or in that and other such appeals conducted by the same persons. The account is to be kept in the name of or on behalf of the person conducting the appeal and is to be operated by not fewer than 2 persons jointly. This subsection, however, has effect subject to the conditions of any particular authority.

(7) A person conducting a fundraising appeal, or any member of the governing body of an organisation on whose behalf such an appeal is conducted, who:

(a) by act or omission is in any way directly or indirectly concerned in or party to a contravention of this section, or

(b) aids, abets, counsels or procures a contravention,

is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(8) A person convicted of an offence under this section in connection with a fundraising appeal conducted on behalf of an organisation is, in addition to any liability for the offence, liable to the organisation for the loss incurred by the organisation as a result of the offence.

(9) An amount for which a person is liable under subsection (8) may be recovered by the organisation concerned as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.