Managing reserve funds

The Department encourages you to use electronic banking and keep the use of cash and cheque books to a minimum. Keep logins and passwords secure and check statements often for any unusual activities.  

Circulate and discuss statements as an agenda item at all board meetings.

Use this accounting ‘master’ document to record all financial transactions, and keep track of assets and liabilities.

The cash book, records all receipts and payment transactions made by a business, including cash, cheque and electronic transactions. Reconcile it with bank statements from your financial institutions. This helps you find any differences, such as unpresented cheques, unbanked receipts, and bank charges.

Transfer information from the cash book to the general ledger.

Bank cash and cheques within a week and keep a bank deposit book for this. Write the receipt number for the amount deposited on the butt of the bank deposit book.

Two authorised board members or employees must sign when paying by cheque. Write the details on the cheque butts:

• date
• payee
• amount
• brief description of payment.

Get receipts and keep them for every payment made.

Do not sign any blank cheques.

You must issue a receipt for all cash payments you receive. The receipt book should be printed in duplicate and each form numbered by the printer (not by hand). You can buy receipt books from many newsagents.

When you buy a new receipt book, keep a record of the first and last numbers in the book. The front of the cash book is a convenient place for recording these details.

Where applicable, the reserve must keep wage records. You can buy a wages book from many newsagents, but computer-based accounting systems such as QuickBooks or XERO are more efficient.

Content of the wages book

In the wages book, there must be a separate page for each employee showing their net wage and all deductions. For each employee, you should keep information such as:

• starting date
• qualifications
• dependants
• entitlements
• deductions requested
• tax payable.

You must give each employee a payslip for each wage payment.

Enter payment for pay-as-you-go withholding tax into the wages column of the cash book.

Pay-as-you-go withholding tax

If the Crown land manager has employees, it must be registered for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding tax. You must withhold these taxes from wage payments to employees. Refer to the Australian Tax Office’s PAYG withholding tax tables or calculators to work out how much tax you must withhold.

You must pay PAYG withholding tax to the Australian Tax Office with your activity statement (either a business activity statement or an instalment activity statement).

For more information on PAYG visit the Australian Tax Office.

Superannuation contributions

If the Crown land manager has eligible employees, it must make superannuation payments for them. Each quarter, Crown land managers must pay the minimum percentage of employees’ ordinary time earnings in superannuation. Ordinary time earnings are the amount an employee earns for their ordinary hours of work.

Crown land managers must make superannuation payments to complying funds or retirement savings accounts before the due date each quarter. These payments are tax-deductible in the financial year they are paid.

Workers compensation

If the Crown land manager has employees, it must have a workers compensation policy to cover employees for workplace-related injuries. Refer to the NSW Government’s A workers compensation guide for employers for more information.

Payroll tax

If the Crown land manager’s wage bill exceeds an amount set by the NSW Office of State Revenue (which is $1,200,000 for the 2024–25 financial year, for example), the manager must assess and pay payroll tax. To find out if you are liable, check the threshold for payroll tax each year with the Australian Tax Office.

Single Touch Payroll reporting requirements

Single Touch Payroll is a way of sending tax and superannuation information electronically to the Australian Tax Office each time you pay your employees. Employers using this method no longer need to submit annual payment summaries (also known as group certificates) for employees.

All money must be banked in the Crown land manager’s bank account. However, there may be small items for which members or personnel pay. You can let these sums grow until they are a substantial amount and reimburse the person with a cheque or electronic payment.

Alternatively, you could use a petty cash float, and keep a separate petty cash book. A board member, manager or caretaker (known as the petty cash custodian) is responsible for the petty cash float and petty cash book. That person must analyse the petty cash dockets so the type of expense can be shown correctly, then write them up in the petty cash book.

Crown land managers should use approved petty cash dockets to substantiate a reimbursement of the petty cash. If the petty cash runs low:

1. The custodian summarises the paid dockets for replenishment.
2. Signatories to the normal bank account draw a cheque payable to the petty cash custodian to replenish the petty cash.
3. The custodian cashes the cheque and gives cash back to the petty cash float.
4. The signatories to the normal bank account approve the reimbursement.
5. Record payments from the normal bank account in the cash book.

If you receive income from lease or licence fees for the regular use of a reserve, you should keep a register of these fees. The register will help you monitor payments and identify users who fall behind. If this happens, discreet action by the board could reduce problems before they escalate.

Large reserves with varied activities may need separate registers for rental of buildings and for ground hire.

Find out about more about Leases and licences.

Meeting minutes capture the essential information of a meeting—decisions and assigned action. They should not record everything that happened in the meeting. They should, however, accurately summarise the key points – that is, the agenda items and sub-items. They should also summarise the discussion, decisions and actions surrounding agenda items.

Attach or supply the location of any documents and/or other information if needed, especially if this information is referred to in the minutes.

The minutes of the meeting should include the following:

• list of attendees and any apologies for absence
• key points of the meeting – summarise the discussion of each agenda item and sub-item
• summary of any decisions and/or proposals made for each agenda item and sub-item
• actions required, if any, for each agenda item and sub-item and who will complete them
• for annual general meetings, the presentation and adoption of the annual report and its financial statements.

The chairperson should sign and date all minutes as being a true and accurate record. The secretary should countersign.

All large financial and expenditure decisions, including any procurement decisions, must be minuted at board meetings.

Find out more about managing board meetings.

Templates

• Agenda template (DOCX, 30 KB)
• Minutes template (DOCX, 31 KB)

An asset register forms part of the records and allows the board to decide the value of the reserve’s physical property at any time (excluding land). A new board or secretary should inspect it whenever there is a handover.

You can use the asset register template (XLS, 50 KB) to record all assets on the reserve.

Value of assets to include

The asset register must include:

• all assets valued at $5,000 or above
• details of the value of work and improvements that cost more than $5,000
• details of heritage items.

However, the Crown land manager can also include certain items for stocktake purposes.

Compiling the register

You can keep the asset register in a journal or preferably in an electronic spreadsheet. It is a good idea to perform a stocktake of assets when compiling it. If you have an asset that you did not have to pay for, you must decide an initial value for recording purposes. The Department may be able to help with initial valuations.

If the reserve has assets in several locations, record the location of each one. This will make future identification easier and increase the levels of control over assets.

If you use accounting software, it will include an asset register.

Stocktaking

Do an annual stocktake and compare the results with the asset register. The stocktake should also review the quality of assets to ensure they are in proper working condition.

Reconcile stocktake results with the general ledger to ensure the value of all assets is recognised in the reserve’s ledgers.

If your reserve has many assets, consider using an electronic asset register system.

A Crown land manager will need an Australian Business Number (ABN) for many of its activities. The Crown land manager’s ABN must appear on all invoices it issues and on its letterhead.

Please contact the Department if you have questions about getting an ABN.

Reserves managed by a corporation, board or administrator

For Crown land managers managed by a corporation, reserve business will be carried out under the ABN of the appointed corporation.

For Crown land managed by a board or administrator, the ABN will be obtained for the statutory land manager.

Withholding tax and the Goods and Services Tax

Businesses must deduct withholding tax from any payments exceeding $75 (excluding the Goods and Services Tax) made to another business that does not give its ABN.

You also need an ABN to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Generally, Crown land managers must register for GST (DOCX, 43 KB) if their current or projected turnover (income) is greater than $75,000 a year.

For non-profit organisations the turnover threshold is $150,000 a year. If you wish to be classified as a not-for-profit organisation for tax purposes, follow the instructions provided by the Australian Tax Office. You must complete an annual self-assessment of your not-for-profit status.

If a Crown land manager’s turnover is below the relevant thresholds it does not have to register for GST, though it may do so voluntarily. This means the reserve can claim back GST credits for the GST the Crown land manager paid on purchases – but it must also collect GST on any revenue the reserve earns. The costs and time involved in GST reporting may exceed the benefits for smaller reserves.

Registered businesses

A registered business must lodge GST returns either monthly or quarterly through a business activity statement. You pay the net GST or claim it back at the same time. The net GST is GST collected minus input tax credits.

The Australian Tax Office gives a lot of information about finances and taxation for non-profit groups, including the requirements for being exempt from income tax.

Consult an accountant or the Australian Tax Office if you have questions.

Update for statutory land managers, December 2024

The Australian Taxation Office has advised that statutory land managers meeting the eligibility requirements for income tax exemption will also be exempt from submitting an annual self-review return, effective immediately.

All other Crown land managers will need to follow the Australian Tax Office’s specified process. See the information below.

Annual reporting requirement

Non-charitable, not-for-profits with an active Australian Business Number (ABN) must lodge an annual self-review return to self-assess as eligible for income tax exemption. The annual reporting requirement has applied since 1 July 2023. The aim is to improve the transparency and integrity of the system by ensuring only eligible not-for-profits access income tax exemption.

For more information, refer to the Australian Tax Office.

The Australian Tax Office may potentially consider Crown land managers as not-for-profits

In line with section 3.16 of the Crown Land Management Act 2016, a Crown land manager may potentially be considered as a not-for-profit entity for tax purposes.

For more information about qualifying for a not-for-profit status, refer to the Australian Tax Office.

New responsibilities for reporting income

Previously, Crown land managers could assess their eligibility for income tax exemptions without an obligation to report to the Australian Tax Office. As of 1 July 2023, Crown land managers must lodge a self-review return annually with the Australian Tax Office if they:

• have an active ABN
• meet the Australian Tax Office’s eligibility criteria to self-assess as exempt from income tax.

How to lodge self-review returns

The not-for-profit self-review return is available to lodge now using the Australian Tax Office's online services for business from 1 July 2024.

Non-charitable, not-for-profits may submit their not-for-profit self-review return by phone, using the Australian Tax Office’s self-help service. The service is available if you cannot access online services for business for the 2023–24 income year. Not-for-profits that are already reporting for GST or PAYG withholding should lodge returns using online services for business for a better experience.

To lodge using the self-help phone service, you will need to:

• review the questions at the not-for-profit self-review guide
• record responses and have these with you when you call
• phone the self-help service on 13 72 26 for not-for-profit self-review return lodgement
• enter the organisation's ABN and a reference number listed on any letter the Australian Tax Office has posted to your organisation, such as the Your annual self-review reporting obligation notice
• follow the prompts to record and submit your responses.

If you have the above details with you when you call, lodgement typically takes about 10 minutes.

You can lodge a self-review return online or through a registered tax agent. For more information, visit the Australian Tax Office. The Australian Tax Office has developed a webinar on self-review returns to help eligible not-for-profits prepare.

Deadlines for lodging a self-review return

You must lodge your self-review return between 1 July and 31 October of the same financial year. Eligible not-for-profits do not need to lodge a self-review return for any income years before the 2023–24 financial year.

Some Crown land managers do not need to lodge a self-review return

Statutory land managers that self-assess as exempt from income tax, meaning they do not need to lodge annual income tax returns, are now exempt from submitting an annual self-review return.

Crown land managers do not need to lodge annual self-review returns if they are:

• not-for-profits for the purposes of the Australian Tax Office, or
• charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, and
• endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as exempt from income tax.

You will still have tax responsibilities if you have employees

If a Crown land manager has employees, it will still have legal obligations (under separate provisions of tax law, if applicable) to:

• collect pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding amounts from certain payments (for example, salaries and wages)
• comply with any fringe benefits tax obligations (although certain entities may be eligible for a rebate or an exemption in addition to an income tax exemption)
• comply with superannuation guarantee obligations
• comply with GST reporting obligations, if registered.

Generally, a statutory land manager cannot be a charity. If you believe that you are a charity for Australian Tax Office purposes, please contact us. We can help you confirm your status.

The Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) has applied since July 2018. Under the CLM Act, any reserve trust managed by a board or administrator became a statutory land manager, and the legal name changed, replacing ‘trust’ with ‘land manager’.

The Department notified the Australian Tax Office of the legal name change for statutory land managers, and the Australian Business Register was updated. The following section gives more details.

Legal names of statutory land managers

The legal name for a statutory land manager entity is ‘XYZ Land Manager’. For example, Berrima Court House Land Manager.

Trading names have not changed.

Entity type for statutory land managers

Statutory land managers that are registered for an ABN are categorised as an ‘other incorporated entity’ on the Australian Business Register.

Check the details of the legal name

We recommend you check your details on the Australian Business Register.

If you are not on the Australian Business Register

Please contact the Department if your entity is not on the Australian Business Register. 

Find out more about changes to Crown lands management and transition to new legislation.

Statutory land managers are incorporated under Schedule 5 of the Crown Land Management Act 2016, which means that they are their own legal entity. A certificate of incorporation provides a single formal document that confirms this status for statutory land managers.

Benefits of having a certificate of incorporation

Statutory land managers may occasionally be asked to give evidence of their board’s legal status for various reasons including (but not limited to):

• establishing back accounts
• setting up EFTPOS facilities for electronic payments at the point of sale
• applying for grant funding
• dealing with the Australian Tax Office
• accessing free services such as Microsoft programs and training for non-profits.

You can supply the certificate of incorporation as evidence. Phone 1300 886 235 to ask for a copy of your certificate.