Recommendations to change controversial new laws governing voluntary organisations’ fundraising activities and charity shops have been sent to Malta’s NGO commissioner by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector.

The 27-page document proposes significant changes to the much-criticised laws that are set to become operational this summer, removing entire articles and dramatically rewording others.

Among changes sought by NGOs are the removal of a €20 per donor daily cap on donations, which they say is unrealistically low, to requiring organisations, rather than volunteers, to register with the regulator.

Other proposed changes include:

• Making a clear distinction made between public collections and fundraising events
• Requiring the NGO commissioner to explain reasons for refusing permits;
• Removing age limits for volunteers;
• Making fundraising permits valid for a full year, rather than an event-by-event basis;
• Removing a requirement for a warranted professional to oversee the opening of fundraising containers;
• A significant overhaul of articles governing the operation of charity shops
• Greater clarity about how activities such as dinners, concerts, car washes and other such activities should be regulated.

NGOs have slammed the regulations in their current form, saying they put an unrealistic burden on many small organisations and could result in “huge losses of income” for many voluntary organisations.

Earlier this month, more than 90 NGOs noted that the laws had been introduced without consultation and urged authorities to withdraw the plans and start afresh.

Government sources subsequently told Times of Malta that the laws would be redrafted, following consultation, as a result of the outcry.

In its consultation document, the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector said that it strongly supported measures to improve transparency and accountability in the sector, but that “not all VOs have the same capacity and thus there should not be any equal administrative burden” on them.

More than 140 voluntary organisations provided input for the MCVS report. 

Read the MCVS consultation report in full.