SINGAPORE — The Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC) will be embarking on a review of the Charities Act and will also look at ways of enhancing the governance framework to increase accountability in the charity sector.

It has also rolled out a transparency framework for charities, where they will do a self-assessment using a scorecard, to encourage disclosure of information by them. The framework was published last month on the Charity Portal last month.

These plans were revealed in the annual report for last year released by the COC’s Office today (July 15), which also reported an increase in support for local charitable causes. About S$1.1 billion in tax-deductible donations were made last year, a jump of more than 12 per cent compared with the S$970 million donated in 2013.

The Charities Act was last reviewed in 2010. The COC’s Office said the review will ensure current regulations continue to be relevant. And in enhancing the governance framework, it will take care not to impose too onerous a burden on the charities, it said.

In a bid to further informed giving, the annual reports of all charities and Governance Evaluation Checklists of non-IPCs (non-Institutions of A Public Character) will be made available on the Charity Portal from the third quarter of this year. In August last year, the COC’s Office started publishing the financial statements of charities for free online viewing on the Charity Portal.

On the transparency framework, the COC’s Office said beyond the self-assessment scorecard in the first few years, the longer term plan is to use the transparency framework for public rating when the sector is more ready. In the meantime, a new Charity Transparency Awards will be introduced next year to recognise charities with good disclosure practices.

O’Joy Care Services’ executive director Choo Jin Kiat said his organisation, which focuses on the elderly and those with mental health conditions, already complies with the COC Code of Governance by publishing its annual report and financial statements, which disclose its specific funding sources and expenses. “What we need more of is to educate the public and let them know of the information that is already out there,” he said.

Overall, donations to the social and welfare sector made up 37 per cent, or S$402 million, of the tax-deductible donations last year, followed by donations to the education sector (28 per cent) and health sector (21 per cent).

The increase in tax-deductible donations was mainly because of increased giving to IPCs in the social and welfare sector, following the Government’s pledge last January to set aside S$250 million to match donations dollar-for-dollar to social service organisations. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KELLY NG

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said that the Office of the Commissioner of Charities is planning to roll out a transparency framework for charities. The framework was published last month. We apologise for the error.