Review of the Registered Clubs Industry in NSW - Clubs NSW

5 Refining the Community Development and Support
Expenditure Scheme
For this reason, IPART considers that individual club measurement, recording and
reporting of contributions, beyond that required and conducted through the CDSE
Scheme, should remain non-mandatory. Nevertheless, clubs that actively record and
measure their activities and contributions gain useful commercial information and
receive benefits through a better understanding of their core business. Recognising
these benefits, the ‘For Community Support’ section of ClubsNSW’s Best Practice
Guidelines recommends clubs annually assess their community support activities. It
recommends these activities be reported separately or in the annual report to club
members. 85
IPART considers that recording and reporting of individual club social contributions
to members and, where possible, to ClubsNSW, should be encouraged. The benefits
of measuring, recording and reporting on club activities and contributions should be
communicated to industry through a more detailed discussion within ClubsNSW’s
Best Practice Guidelines. 86
Recommendation
11 That ClubsNSW encourage clubs to measure, record and report on their social
contributions to their members and to ClubsNSW, by developing a Best Practice
Guideline on reporting social contributions.
5.6 The maximum CDSE rebate should not be increased
IPART asked roundtable participants and case study clubs whether they saw benefit
in extending the maximum CDSE rebate beyond the current 1.5 per cent of
prescribed profits. Some stakeholders saw benefits in CDSE Scheme expansion.
NCOSS, for example, supported an extension of the rebate. 87 The Leagues Clubs’
Association, both at roundtables and in submissions, 88 proposed including donations
to professional rugby league clubs in CDSE and providing a 50 cents in the dollar
rebate for CDSE contributions over 1.5 per cent of prescribed profit up to 5 per cent
of profit.
On the other hand, many individual clubs were wary about extending the Scheme
However, this view seemed to be based on a misunderstanding that CDSE is
compulsory, and that extending it would create a larger cost burden for clubs, when
in fact it operates as a revenue-neutral tax offset for clubs.
85 ClubsNSW, Best Practice Guidelines, July 2005, p 37.
86 Feedback from the case study process identified that most clubs looked to ClubsNSW Best Practice
Guidelines for guidance and found them to be very useful.
87 NCOSS, Sydney roundtable, 27 August 2007, p 11.
88 Leagues Clubs’ Association, Sydney roundtable, 27 August 2007, p 17; Leagues Clubs’ Association
submission, 8 April 2008, p 6.
84 IPART Review of the Registered Clubs Industry in NSW