On 23 August 2012, the House of Representatives referred the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill 2012 ('the ACNC Bill'), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2012 and the Tax Laws Amendment (Special Conditions for Not-for-profit Concessions) Bill 2012 ('the TLAB') to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services for inquiry and report.

One of the nine recommendations of the committee is that upon the establishment of the ACNC on 1 October 2012, the Commissioner promptly engages stakeholders to devise a set of governance standards and reporting requirements for the sector. These requirements must balance the need for probity and transparency with an acknowledgement of the time and cost that these arrangements may pose, particularly for smaller entities.