Charity registration – necessitous circumstances

To be registered as a charity, an organisation must have a charitable purpose or purposes. Charitable purpose has a legal definition, which is found in the Charities Act 2013 (Cth), and there are twelve different charitable purposes. In January 2024, the ACNC published the key factors it will consider in determining an organisation’s eligibility to …
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Changes to government administration of not-for-profit organisations deductible gift recipient status

13/02/2024 From 1 January 2024, there is a new process for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations wishing to apply for deductible gift recipient endorsement (DGR) from the Australian government. This change is designed to streamline the administration and review of DGR eligibility. DGR endorsement means that donations received by the NFP to support its organisation may be …
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Positive duty guidelines

Alert: AHRC releases guidelines for new positive duty. From 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission will have the power to enforce compliance with the positive duty obligation under section 47(c) of Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). The positive duty requires organisations and businesses to take ‘reasonable and proportionate measures’ to eliminate, as far …
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Thinking of using AI in your organisation: read this first – the legal issues associated with the use of AI Programs

Similar to the advent of the personal computers and the internet, ChatGPT is on the path to revolutionise the way we work, and the speed in which work can be done. With this change comes impacts to a whole raft of current practices in business, which although disruptive, will, in the long term, see an …
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Winding up a charity

Before a charity is wound up there are several compliance activities that must occur with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), including lodging the most recent Annual Information Statement. Once this is done, charities are required to submit the relevant form requesting that the Commissioner revoke registration. If the request is approved, it takes …
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Electoral spending

Changes to the Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) now require charities that spend money to influence voters in a federal election to register and report expenditure to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Depending on the level of expenditure, a charity may be subject to disclosure requirements as: a political campaigner; or a third party. Political campaigner …
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Charity Listing with the ACNC

Throughout the year we assist clients with their corporate governance and regulatory compliance. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has imposed new obligations on charities, in some cases in addition to existing reporting obligations. We often find that charities are not up to date with their ACNC lodgements. If you work for a charity, …
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