20/08/2025
Do you understand your company’s reporting obligations? It can be confusing, trying to understand whether to report company information to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) or to the Australian Securities and Information Commission (ASIC).
Changes to the reporting regimes have been made in an attempt to simplify the regulatory requirements, in particular for ACNC Registered Charities.
Registered charity information required only for ACNC
ACNC Registered Charities should familiarise themselves with the registration and notification requirements, which mean that they will primarily provide information to the ACNC.
The following matters need only be reported or submitted to the ACNC:
- Applying to register a charity
- Notifying changes to:
- registered office/address for service;
- directors (responsible persons); or
- constitution (governing documents)
- Submitting an Annual Information Statement for each reporting period
Registered charities are not required to notify ASIC of most changes they have notified the ACNC of. This means that information about charities shown on the ASIC Register may not be completely up-to-date or align with the ACNC. The ACNC Charity Register should have the most current information for the CLG registered as a charity.
While a charity might consider it desirable to try to ensure both ASIC and ACNC are advised of all changes to responsible person for example, the administrative burden in doing so can be excessive.
Registered charity information required for both ACNC and ASIC
An ACNC Registered Charity must notify both ASIC and ACNC of the following:
- Notify change of name to a company;
- Apply to change the ‘legal’ name of a company to omit the word ‘Limited’;
- Notify external administration of a company
- Apply to register or deregister a company.
Registered charity information required ONLY for ASIC
An ACNC Registered Charity must notify ASIC of the following:
- Notify of resignation or removal of an auditor.
Further information and assistance
Information summaries from each regulator provide further information on other matters which require notifications and reporting. These are useful reference documents for company secretaries, CFOs and CEOs:
- ASIC – https://asic.gov.au/for-business/running-a-company/charities-registered-with-the-acnc/
- ACNC – https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-charities/manage-your-charity/other-regulators/companies-limited-guarantee#:~:text=Registered%20charities%20are%20not%20required,CLG%20registered%20as%20a%20charity
Our Corporate Governance and Commercial team at Griffin Legal can also advise your charity or company on the notification processes and requirements, and can assist you with keeping your compliance with such notifications up to date.