Value of the Not-for-profit Sector 2020: The Second Examination of the Economic Contribution of the Not-for-profit Human Services Sector in the Northern Territory

This 2020 report is based on the 2018 Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Annual Information Data Set. It is the second report in this series. The first report was published in 2017 and focused on 2015 data provided by Northern Territory charities to the ACNC. The number of charities headquartered in the Northern Territory shrank from 450 in 2015 to 418 in 2018, or by 7.1%. Additionally, while we do not have data related to them, as at July 2020, there are 1,620 incorporated associations on the Northern Territory register compared with 1,596 in 2015. Importantly, many of these are also likely to be registered charities. These organisations contributed positively to the Northern Territory Gross State Productivity (GSP). In examining the activities of the Northern Territory’s charities, we use the ACNC activity definitions for Main activity (the dominant activity reported) and Other activity (for all other activities reported by charities). Charities have become more focused in their service provision reporting an average of 3 beneficiary categories as compared to 6.59 categories in 2015. Their Other activity mix contracted with 1.52 service areas on average being reported in 2018 as compared to 2.91 in 2015, signalling contraction in the sector. This contraction is likely driven by sustainability and other risk concerns. Importantly, the data does not tell us where the contraction in services has occurred, and so there is also likely to have been a loss and/or a reduction of service access in some parts of the Northern Territory. The sector profitability has also polarised as per previous predictions relating to the financial performance of charities in the Northern Territory. The number of charities that made a profit in 2018 rose (55% in 2018, 49% in 2015) as did the numbers of those charities making a loss (29% in 2018, 24% in 2015), while the charities breaking even reduced (16% in 2018, 27% in 2015). This has considerable ramifications for the ongoing sustainability of almost a third of the sector and for those they serve.