Compliance Bulletin

Welcome to the August 2025 edition

Better understanding the Sublicence and Funding Agreement

This HIPPY Compliance Bulletin helps sites understand their Sublicence and Funding Agreement. It provides practical tips, ideas, and examples to help sites stay compliant and meet their obligations. The Bulletin also breaks down key parts of the Sublicence, showing how strong compliance and quality practices support successful program delivery.

Though particularly focussed at supporting Line Managers - who are responsible for ensuring compliance to the Sublicence - these bulletins work to help Coordinators understand how HIPPY is administered and how the work they do fulfils their organisation’s contract with BSL.

This month’s focus is on funding and payments.

Funding payments and their conditions

HIPPY funding comes in a single package- combining operational, enhancement and Tutor training funding in one payment.

HIPPY Australia makes funding payments to HIPPY providers twice a year, in January and July, to fund HIPPY sites for the following six months.

In December and June, HIPPY Australia sends purchase orders to sites listing the funding amounts they are to invoice the Brotherhood of St. Laurence for.

Sites draw up invoices for the required amounts and submit them to BSL, after which they will be paid, and sites receive their funding.

Please note: All funding provided to HIPPY providers must only be used on the HIPPY program within the site’s catchment area.

To ensure that sites receive funding on time, HIPPY sites are expected to fulfill the conditions of the HIPPY Sublicence and Funding Agreement, including making sure that:

  • data is entered into ETO in a timely manner (entered within 10 business days of the data being collected and before the ETO quarter close);
  • biannual reports are submitted (Coordinator, Line Manager and financial reports); and
  • annual and biannual financial and budget reports are submitted


On specific occasions when providers are breaching the Sublicence and Funding Agreement, HIPPY Australia can suspend funding payments. Some examples of these occasions are when:

  • Risk management plans are not implemented
  • Children or vulnerable people are not safeguarded

Additionally HIPPY Australia can reduce the funding amount payable if a provider owes money to HIPPY Australia or when money from the previous six months has not been used (with the understanding that the provider would use that surplus over the coming six months).

    Use of funds and financial reporting requirements

    Use of HIPPY funds

    Funding must not be used for several items, including but not limited to:
    • activities outside of the HIPPY model
    • the purchase of land or vehicles
    • capital costs, such as the purchase of a training room
    • wages for non-HIPPY provider staff
    • covering retrospective costs
    • the subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such as electricity, phone and rent

    For a complete list of prohibited expenses, please see Section 3.4 (c) of the Sublicence and Funding Agreement.

    If it is reasonable to believe that funds could be used on prohibited expenses, HIPPY Australia may request additional information regarding the use of HIPPY funding payments and in those cases may require the provider to obtain an auditor’s opinion if the information doesn’t satisfy HIPPY Australia.

    Financial reporting requirements

    Every HIPPY site is required to submit three main types of financial reports along with their regular biannual Coordinator and Line Manager Reports. These reports are:

    Please note: All financial reports are expected to be completed by a financial officer or accountant.

    Additional payments and surplus funds management

    Subject to the availability of funding, HIPPY Australia may pay make additional payments to providers e.g. supplementation payments.

    Any additional payments for the coming year will be announced in January 2026 and will again be subject to the availability of funding.

    Under the Sublicence and Funding Agreement, providers may be invited to submit a written business case for additional funding or may decide to submit one by their own choice.

    Surplus funds

    Providers may carry over surplus funds (that is HIPPY funding that was not spent in the previous financial year) with the prior written approval of HIPPY Australia.

    If HIPPY Australia is unable to approve the carrying over of funds, providers must refund any surplus funds to HIPPY Australia within ten business days after being requested to do so by HIPPY Australia.

    HIPPY Australia will contact sites in September to confirm the surplus proposal process.

    A note on GST
    All HIPPY funding (unless expressly stated in the Sublicence) is exclusive of GST.

    All providers must be registered for GST and must notify HIPPY Australia if they cease to be registered.

    FAQs

    Within each Bulletin we’ll now be answering sites’ questions on the monthly topic.

    Next month’s topic is monitoring and evaluation including quality assurance and reporting.