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Throughout primary school and kinder I've noticed that around Christmas and sometimes the teachers birthday some parents organise a pool of money to purchase a gift for the teacher. This can result in the teacher receiving a gift in the range of $200 to $300 dollars. In the corporate world, I'd be expected to register this.

Are there any legal concerns here, and from what angle. Corruption, Income, Taxation something else?

Also is it different if a parent individually gave a gift?

user1605665
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No

Gifts are legal, bribery is not.

The distinction has nohting to do with value and everything to do with intent. Gifts are given gratuitously, bribes are given as part of a corrupt exchange.

Many organisations, particularly public ones, have policies and procedures regarding gifts as an anti-corruption measure but, there is no general legal requirement to do so. Where they exist they are the receiver’s problem, not the giver’s.

Feel free to give your teacher a gift.

Dale M
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  • Any chance of taxation concerns, is there a value threshold? – user1605665 Dec 06 '18 at 20:51
  • There are no taxes on gifts in Australia. You do have to pay tax on bribes - it’s bad enough being charged with corruption without being charged with tax evasion as well. – Dale M Dec 06 '18 at 21:12
  • Where policies limiting gifts to prevent corruption exist, they often impose obligations on the giver as well as the receiver. For example, the US "Foreign Corrupt practices Act" does so. So do many US corporate policies, including the one i work under.. But unless one fears that teachers are being bribed, gifts should be OK there. – David Siegel Dec 06 '18 at 23:09
  • If there is a law you can bind everyone. I can tell you to stick your corporate policy if I don’t work for you. – Dale M Dec 07 '18 at 01:04
  • @Dale M quite true. I meant that my employers policy restricts me from giving gifts that might be perceived as improper. I could be fired or penalized for doing so. Many corporate employees have similar policies apply to them. And some laws similarly apply to givers as well as recievers. – David Siegel Jan 05 '19 at 21:55