Loans, grants and donations

Loans, grants and donations

The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (the RO Act) requires that organisations and branches lodge a Loans, Grants and Donations Statement (LGD statement) within 90 days of the end of their financial year. It must be signed by an elected officer. 

Organisations and their branches must pay attention to the lodgement timeframes to avoid non-compliance. 

The LGD statement discloses each loan, grant and donation that exceeds $1,000 made during the financial year by the organisation or branch. It must include:

• the amount
• the purpose
• the security (if it is a loan).

The LGD statement must also disclose:

• the name and address of the person to whom it was made
• the arrangements for repaying (if it is a loan).

However, this is not required if the loan, grant or donation was made to a member, or their dependent, to relieve them from severe hardship.

Loans exceeding $1,000 to a state association, another branch within the organisation or an officer, are reported on the LGD statement. Donations can be either cash or in-kind. Registered organisations are encouraged to contact the Commission if they have a transaction they would like to discuss further. 

Not all organisations and branches will have loans, grants and donations to report for the financial year. However, organisations and branches are encouraged to lodge an LGD statement even if all the figures are reported as ‘nil’.  

A template is available to help organisations and branches lodge an LGD statement. 

Read our fact sheet to identify the common misconceptions of the LGD statement. 
 

Financial reporting

The requirement to lodge an LGD statement is separate and in addition to the financial report. The lodgement timeframes are different.   

However, the Commission compares the financial report with the transactions reported in the LGD statement. If the information is inconsistent the Commission will engage with the organisation or branch to ensure loans, grants and donations are properly reported.   

Inspecting an LGD statement

A member of an organisation or branch can inspect the LGD statement of the organisation they belong to. The inspection must take place during business hours. 

Requests for inspecting an LGD statement can be emailed to regorgs@fwc.gov.au. You can also email questions about loans, grants and donations to this address.

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