A self-described mental health advocate who purported to raise money for a charity has been convicted of breaches of South Australia’s charity laws and fined $800, following action taken by consumer watchdog Consumer and Business Services.

30-year-old Cameron Roy Taylor, who now lives on the Gold Coast, was charged with two counts of acting as a collector without authority.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court was told that Taylor had operated a business called Chin Up, which purported to be a charity aimed at helping men with mental health issues – describing its mission “to reduce shame, to empower men to speak up and ask for support when needed”.

The court was told that neither Taylor, nor his business, held a licence to operate as a charity and that it was unknown whether the money Taylor raised was ever used for its supposed purpose.

Magistrate Louise Kleinig noted Taylor was currently working as an Uber driver, saying she would have imposed a far greater penalty were it not for his current financial circumstances, fining him $800 and recording convictions on both counts.

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Attributable to Andrea Michaels

Charity work is a vital part of our community and there is no doubt that raising awareness about men’s mental health is a serious, worthy cause.

Unfortunately, people like this can undermine public confidence in legitimate charities that actually do good work in the community.

Our licensing regime exists for a reason.

The strict requirements around bookkeeping, and auditing of financial records, help ensure that any money raised by a licensed charity goes to the cause it is promoting.

This individual didn’t have a licence and, as a result, there is no way of knowing how much money he raised, or whether any of it reached its intended cause.

It’s disgraceful behaviour that could have deprived legitimate charities of much-needed funding and detracted from a cause that deserves far greater attention.