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UCA Structure

UnitingWorld is an Agency of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA).

We are mandated to drive collaboration with the global church, addressing the causes and consequences of poverty, injustice and violence.

Our Charitable Purpose is “Motivated by service of God through serving those in need, the purpose of the organisation is to relieve the poverty, distress, sickness, disadvantage due to disability, destitution, suffering misfortune or disempowerment of individuals and communities in need, with a focus on those living overseas”.

We work in ways that will strengthen both the UCA and our overseas partner churches.

The governance of UnitingWorld rests with the UnitingWorld Board, whose members are appointed by the UCA Assembly Standing Committee. Our Board is ultimately accountable to the National Assembly – a triennial gathering of representative UCA members from across Australia. The Board is guided by our Constitution.

As a business unit of the UCA National Assembly, UnitingWorld traded under the UCA National Assembly ABN for several decades. However, on 1 October 2020, we transitioned to our own ABN: 47 817 183 926. As a charity registered with the Australian Charity and Not-for-profits Commission, UnitingWorld can receive tax-deductible donations for its programs.

How We Use Your Gifts

  • 37% International Programs

  • 18% Program Support

  • 3% Community Education

  • 11% Accounting and Administration

  • 11% Fundraising

  • 20% Other

  • 53% Pacific

  • 24% South East Asia

  • 17% South Asia

  • 6% Africa

*All ratios based on audited financial statements as presented in the 2023 financial report

We’re held to the highest standards

We work directly at the grass roots, with churches that are deeply embedded in their communities and led by local people. Our close relationships with local partners means we are able to clearly see that your gifts benefit those in greatest need, with solutions that are right for the people and the place.

We are members of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and signatories to and compliant with their Code of Conduct. This is an independent benchmark for the quality and methodology of our work. UnitingWorld also follows and upholds the ACFID Fundraising Charter.

As members of the Fundraising Institute of Australia, we are committed to all of their requirements for ethical fundraising and privacy, transparency and accountability in our relationships with donors. We report back to you through this website, our regular communications, our annual reports and audited accounts. Full audited financial statements are available on request from info@unitingworld.org.au

We have satisfied the stringent requirements regarding program quality, effectiveness, transparency, accountability and governance set out by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

We are an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA). The added oversight of the UCA’s governance bodies holds accountable both for financial management, and for maintaining respectful healthy relationships with our global church partners.

The cost of doing it right

We work through local church partners who are on the ground and who are, in effect, the communities they serve. They live the issues and know the solutions. This represents great value for money as we work through existing, effective mechanisms that we support and help strengthen.

Our own governance structures as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), who provide us with Australian Aid funds, hold us to a high standard of accountability for the money we spend and the programs we deliver. We work to standards of best practice in the aid and development sector which includes ensuring children and the vulnerable are protected in all our interactions and that fraud is prevented, among many other compliance issues. This costs money. We employ staff who are professional and experienced to make sure we do this well.

We want to use your donations from the $10 gifts to the tens of thousands in the most effective ways possible and be able to tell you how we’ve done that. So we keep our admin fees as low as possible. Have a look at the pie chart above to get a sense of how that looks and feel free to call and talk to us more if you’d like.

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