TRANSPARENCY POLICY

Introduction

Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS) is the international development arm of the Marist Brothers Star of the Sea Province and the Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat. It has a particular focus on empowering young people to transform their lives and community. Promoting the dignity of the human person, as safeguarded by internationally recognised human rights conventions, is a core value of AMS.

AMS recognises the importance of transparency and strives to provide stakeholders with accurate and timely information regarding the activities of the organisation. This is achieved through ensuring awareness of this policy and related procedures and legislation amongst staff, volunteers and users at all levels and a commitment to continue to improve accountability.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to affirm AMS’ commitment to working in a transparent manner and being accountable to all its stakeholders, including its partners, beneficiaries, funders and donors. AMS adheres to the guidelines on transparency as outlined in the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct and the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) Code.

Scope

This policy applies to all Board and committee members, staff, project partners, contractors, consultants, volunteers, visitors, interns and other stakeholders who operate under the auspices of AMS.

Policy

AMS is accredited with the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and complies with the ACFID Code of Conduct, which promotes transparency and accountability in its members through a set of quality principles outlining organisational governance, communications and financial management.

Communication

In communicating with its stakeholders and the general public, AMS will:

• ensure that material prepared for public distribution reflects its vision, mission and values;

• respect the human rights and dignity of people when providing information about them;

• respect the privacy of each person, as defined in the AMS Privacy Policy and the AMS Fundraising and Donations Policy;

• disseminate information about its projects to all stakeholders, including primary stakeholders, partners and donors;

• provide timely accessible, accurate and ethically sourced information to its donors and the general public;

• share information regarding its governance structure and legal status;

• communicate with its project partners and primary stakeholders in a respectful manner;

• develop clear processes and modes of reporting to its funding partners.

Accountability

AMS will:

• disclose any conflicts of interest;

• comply with state and federal legislation in relation to its operations;

• regularly publish information about its work on a range of platforms;

• adhere by the ACFID Code of Conduct and other relevant guidelines;

• post appropriate policies on the AMS website;

• seek constructive feedback from its funders, donors, partners, primary stakeholders and staff;

• conduct monitoring and evaluation of the impact of its projects with and share the results of these activities with primary stakeholders;

• share the results of any surveys, needs assessments or similar undertakings with its partners, primary stakeholders and other relevant stakeholders.

Financial Transparency

AMS will:

• prepare financial reports as required by law;

• report to government agencies in accordance with the terms of grants and funding contracts;

• include summary financial information from its audited statutory accounts in its annual reports;

• make the fully audited accounts available on request;

• post the annual report and other relevant information on its website.

Our annual financial reports are independently audited by an external auditor and the impact of our programs is published in our annual reports and on our website.

Access to Information

AMS is committed to transparency by sharing information. We recommend that individuals first check if the information required is available in our annual reports or publications, within our policies or on our website www.australianmaristsolidarity.net.au. We will endeavour to provide any other information requested. However, in certain instances, we may not be able to provide you with the information requested, some of these reasons include:

• Private information that could contain private personal data relating to an individual;

• Confidential information, including for legal or contractual purposes;

• Information that, if disclosed, could endanger the safety of an individual.

In addition, AMS may on occasion assess that the cost to provide the information is disproportionate to the request.

In all instances where we are unable to provide the information requested, we will explain the reason why it is not possible and endeavour to suggest alternative sources of information. To make a request for information please complete our online form or email ams@marists.org.au or send by post to PO Box 273, Ashgrove West, QLD 4060.

Implementation

The implementation of this policy will be guided by the AMS Operations Manual.

Monitoring and Review

AMS will undertake a review of this policy in accordance with the AMS Policy Review Process, or sooner if required. This review will be undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer and AMS staff and reviewed by the AMS Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and Board of Directors.