Not for Profits & Charities
Not-for-profits and charities are both an area of expertise and a labour of love for our team. We are extremely passionate about the NFP sector, having been part of NFP management ourselves. We bring a uniquely practical lens to our work in this area and know what NFPs need given the pressures they face on an ongoing basis. We are well positioned to assist all manner of NFP organisations, from schools to charities and others in between. We are experts at set-up and organisational structuring, compliance and transactional matters and skilled at litigation involving NFP entities.
Headstart Legal’s founding team are exceptionally passionate about and experienced in the NFP sector, having all been part of NFP organisations or their management themselves at some stage in their careers.
We thus bring a uniquely practical lens to our work in this area and know what NFPs need given the pressures they face on an ongoing basis. Our Founding Principal, Abdulla Rahhal, has dedicated over a decade of his professional life to managing or advising NFP organisations.
We pride ourselves on providing strategic commercial and legislative advice to our NFP clients to help them achieve their organisational goals. We understand intimately that this is a constantly-changing legal space, and we stay up to date on all relevant issues and developments to ensure our clients receive the best and latest advice.
Our experienced team works with a broad range of NFP entity types, including charities, religious organisations, clubs, foundations, member-based organisations and educational organisations. We form deep partnerships that see us become close advisers of NFP organisations’ boards, giving us a depth of understanding and the ability to provide incisive, tailored legal advice in an easy-to-understand manner.
We offer a wide range of services to support the NFP sector’s diversity, assisting clients across the NFP life-cycle. We advise on entity set up and legal structures, preparing key incorporation documents, advising on tax (including exemption) matters, litigation and risk management, including crucial compliance and regulatory needs. We also advise our clients in various areas of the law affecting their entities, including contracts and agreements, corporate governance, employment and workplace relations and intellectual property and protection strategies.
With our depth of experience and passion for the sector, ours is an exceptional NFP practice, ready to assist you with your needs in this dynamic area. Our expertise includes the following areas:
Assets and Intellectual property protection strategies
Appropriate legal structure given objectives and scope of operations
Commercial activities and investments
Compliance needs and assessments by the ACNC
Establishment of charitable trusts and bequest clauses in wills
Government funding tenders and duty exemptions
Incorporation documents and related needs
Litigation and dispute resolution
Tax status, including Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs) status wit the ATO, tax treatment of income and GST compliance
Governing documents and policies, including the drafting of policies for:
Memorandums of understanding and service agreements with local and overseas partners, Employment procedures, Conflict of interest procedures, Anti-bribery and anti-corruption, Anti-Money laundering and counter-terrorism, Child protection, Cross-border movement of funds for Austrac purposes, Activities evaluation and monitoring, Working with vulnerable people, Charity money management plans and Disqualified person and removal of disqualified person procedures
Governing documents and policies, including the drafting of policies for:
Memorandums of understanding and service agreements with local and overseas partners
Employment procedures
Conflict of interest procedures
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption
Anti-Money laundering and counter-terrorism
Child protection
Cross-border movement of funds for Austrac purposes
Activities evaluation and monitoring
Working with vulnerable people
Charity money management plans
Disqualified person and removal of disqualified person procedures
Supporting Your Not-for-Profit Mission
Partner with a legal team that understands the unique challenges of the not-for-profit sector. Whether you’re starting a new organization or navigating regulatory complexities, we’re here to provide strategic guidance and tailored solutions. Contact us today to discuss how we can assist in achieving your mission.