Sue Barker: Charities law expert on three women suspended for unauthorised spending from wellbeing fund at Women's Refuge

Women’s Refuge is in the spotlight following claims of unauthorised spending from a “wellbeing fund”. 

Three women at Whare Manaaki Porirua Women’s Refuge have been suspended while a forensic accountant goes over expenditure. 

Charities Law expert Sue Barker tells Heather du Plessis-Allan charities need public support and reputational controversies could damage Women’s Refuge’s ability to do what the public support them to do. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now there are questions around spending real some of women's
refuges money. There are three senior staff members at the
portad A branch who've been suspended while a forensic accountant
investigates money that was spent on get this, dental work,
beauty treatment, haircuts, and flights to the Gold Coast. Charities
law expert Sue Barker's with us on this a Sue Hi, hell,

(00:21):
how are you very well? Thank you now? Suit Listen,
even if this was best case scenario legit spending from
a fund that was meant for the well being of staff,
how do you think this is going to go down
with the public who donate.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, I think that's an important question. I mean, it
is important to bear in mind that charities are really struggling.
It is really hard for them to recruit and retain
staff at the moment in the current climate, and people
and charities work really hard. So in principle, I don't
think there's a problem with having a well being fun
to reward staff, you know, to look after staff, to

(00:56):
monarchy their staff. I think in principle that's not inherently problematic.
But I think the problem is is that every decision
when it comes to a charity, must be made in
the best interest of the charitable purposes. Now this is
subject to an investigation, so I wouldn't want to comment
on the specifics, but in principle, every charity must make
sure every payment meets that test.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, okay, So look at this through the eyes of
somebody who's donated to them. You find out that a
staff member has spent two hundred dollars at the dentist
and it's been signed off. Best case scenario, that's not
a good look as it.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, you know, how far down do you want to go?
I mean, people support charities to support their charitable purposes,
and I think questions like this really are very difficult
for charities. That charities are in a very vulnerable position
because they need the support of the public in order
to receive the funding that they need in order to
further their charitable purpose, and questions like this can really

(01:55):
be very difficult for a charity. And it's important to
note that it's not really women's refuge, you know, it's
it's slightly apart from women's refuge, and it worries me
that the women's refuge might be tainted by something that's
not necessarily attributable to them.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, I think you're onto something there, so hey, thank
you very much, appreciate it. Sue Barker Charities Law Experience.
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