We are accountable to our stakeholders, particularly the children, men and women we seek to help, to ensure our work has the greatest impact.
National Stakeholders
Children
We respect the contribution that Australian children can make and we:
- encourage them to participate in our work
- provide ways for them to connect through our youth network and advisory groups
- help them to better understand and promote child rights.
Our Board and Members
Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and management team report to the Board. Our Board of Directors is:
- responsible for guiding the organisation;
- accountable for our actions and the impact of our activities;
- accountable to the Australian Securities Investment Commission.
Plan in Australia is an incorporated entity and special purpose public company limited by guarantee. This means we have members rather than shareholders. Members are:
- informed about our work via the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and annual report;
- encouraged to contact our CEO or other Board members for more information if they have a particular interest in an issue;
- invited to attend the AGM; members who have paid their fees also have voting rights at this meeting.
Australian Securities and Investment Commission
As a registered company, we are accountable to the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) and must:
- ensure a fully audited annual report and statutory financial statement is made publicly available each year and submitted to ASIC;
- notify ASIC of changes to our Board or any significant changes in our circumstances.
Australian Tax Office
Plan in Australia is classified as a Public Benevolent Institution and endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as an income tax exempt charitable entity as well as a deductible gift recipient.
Australian Council for International Development
We are a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and signatory to its code of conduct, which defines minimum standards of governance, management and accountability for non-government organisations. Our adherence to the code is monitored by an independent code of conduct committee.
Australian Government
We are fully accredited by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program, and receive grants through AusAID for our development programs. To be eligible for these grants we must meet accreditation requirements and continue to meet strict reporting and acquittal standards.
Child Sponsors, Donors and Business Partners
Our supporters make an enormous contribution to our work through generous donations of money or time. We are accountable for the money they entrust to us by:
- ensuring our fundraising activities are compliant in each state with state fundraising law
- tracking our progress against our strategic plan goals and objectives through annual, mid-term and final reviews, as well as the annual report
- spelling out how we manage our finances in annual and financial reports
- encouraging feedback through our complaints and compliments mechanism.
International Stakeholders
Children
Our first accountability is to children in developing countries – particularly those who are most vulnerable. They're at the centre of everything we do. We:
- encourage children to participate in all stages of our development work
- help children to learn about their rights and speak out about issues that affect them.
Families and Communities
We're accountable to the families and communities we seek to help in developing countries. We know they can take charge, overcome their challenges, and rely on themselves – with the right support. We:
- work together on development projects, from identifying community needs through to delivering solutions that are right for them
- consult with families to determine how our programs can best benefit their children, making sure all
- community members – men, women and children – help to nominate children who are happy to represent their community through child sponsorship.
Host Governments
We're accountable to host governments by:
- signing a Memorandum of Understanding with them before we begin development work – this establishes our status as an independent humanitarian organisation and commitment to respect the
- country's laws and regulations
- ensuring our project planning and standards gain government approval.
Plan International
Plan in Australia is one of 18 independent member organisations of Plan International, which:
- supervises our operations including our overheads and funding to programs overseas
- publishes consolidated international accounts that show performance across the whole Plan network.
We, in turn, contribute to Plan International's governance, with representatives of our Board sitting on Plan International’s Board.