Notifying the ACNC

You must notify us if your charity’s legal name changes.

To do so, log in to the ACNC Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage other charity details’. Complete the online form ‘Change your charity’s legal name or governing document’.

If your charity’s legal name changes, you will also need to update your governing document to reflect the new legal name.

You must notify us if your charity’s Address For Service changes. Your charity’s Address For Service is the primary email or physical address to which the ACNC sends all official correspondence.

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage other charity details’. Complete the online form ‘Change your charity’s Address For Service’.

You must notify us if a Responsible Person is appointed to, or leaves, your charity. Your charity's Responsible People are those responsible for governing your charity, such as a board or committee member, or trustee.

To add a Responsible Person

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Complete the online form ‘Add Responsible Person’. You will need to provide the person’s personal information in the form, but only their name and position will appear publicly on the Charity Register.

Please ensure the email address listed for the new Responsible Person is a personal email, not a generic one. Once they have been added, they can follow our instructions to create their own Charity Portal account.

To remove a Responsible Person

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Click on the person’s name in the list of current Responsible People, then enter an end date for their role and submit.

To change a Responsible Person's position

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Click on the person’s name in the list of current Responsible People, then update their position and submit.

You must notify us if your charity’s governing document has changed. Your charity's governing document may also be referred to as its constitution, rules or trust deed.

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage other charity details’. Complete the online form ‘Change your charity’s legal name or governing document’.

In the form, you will need to upload a new copy of the governing document. If your charity’s governing document contains personal information, you need to upload the full version, and a version with personal information redacted which will appear on the public Charity Register.

If your charity’s governing document has changed because its legal structure has changed, see our guidance on changing your charity’s legal structure to see what process your charity needs to follow.

Ensure you follow the correct legal processes to change your charity’s governing document. This may include complying with requirements for another regulator before notifying the ACNC.

For example, companies limited by guarantee need to pass a special resolution to make a change to their governing document. Incorporated associations in some states and territories need to have any changes approved by their state or territory regulator first.

Charities should notify us after the changes have formally taken place.

You must notify us if you think your charity has breached the ACNC Act or not complied with an ACNC Governance Standard or an External Conduct Standard in a significant way, and as a result, is no longer entitled to be registered as a charity or registered under a specific charity subtype.

An example of this is if your charity changes the focus of its activities, and is therefore no longer working towards its charitable purposes.

You must notify the ACNC as soon as you reasonably can, but no later than 28 days after you become aware of the failure to comply.

To notify us that your charity is not meeting its obligations, complete Form 3C: Notification of contravention or non-compliance.

An Authorised Person is someone who holds a position in a charity that gives them authority to declare and sign documents for the charity, such as the chief executive officer or chief financial officer.

A charity can also add an agent (such as a lawyer or accountant) as an Authorised Person so they can sign forms or documents on the charity’s behalf.

To add an Authorised Person

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Complete the form ‘Add Authorised Person’. You will need to provide the person’s personal information in the form, but they will not appear on the Charity Register.

Please ensure the email address listed for the new Authorised Person is a personal email, not a generic one. Once they have been added, they can follow our instructions to create their own Charity Portal account.

To remove an Authorised Person

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Click on the person’s name in the list of current Authorised People, then enter an end date for their role and submit.

To change an Authorised Person's position

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage people’. Click on the person’s name in the list of current Authorised People, then update their position and submit.

The standard ACNC reporting period is based on a 1 July to 30 June financial year. If your charity wants to use a different accounting period – known as a substituted accounting period – you must make a request to do so.

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage reporting’. Complete the form ‘Request a different reporting period’ (the form is at the bottom of the ‘Manage reporting’ page).

Please wait until your charity’s new reporting period is approved by the ACNC before completing the Annual Information Statement.

Australian Business Number (ABN)

You should notify the ACNC if your charity's ABN changes.

If your charity has only changed its ABN, but its legal structure has not changed, you will need to:

1. Complete Form 3B: Change of charity details
2. Apply to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for your charity to keep its tax concessions (if applicable)

If your charity has changed its legal structure, its charitable purposes, or has merged with another organisation, you will need to provide the ACNC with additional information.

Legal structure

You should notify the ACNC if your charity's legal structure changes.

Your charity's legal structure may change for several reasons – for example, because it is incorporating, or if it is merging with another charity.

The process involved in updating your charity's legal structure with the ACNC will depend on your charity's original and new legal structure.

Please refer to the table in our guidance about changing your charity's ABN or legal structure for information about what your charity is required to do based on the type of legal structure change.

Charities are registered with the ACNC with at least one charity subtype, which is a category that reflects a charity’s purpose.

You can check your charity’s current subtypes on the Charity Register, under the History tab on your charity's page.

Sometimes a charity may develop and change its focus and purposes, or add a new purpose. If it does, it may need to change or add a charity subtype.

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage other charity details’. Complete the form ‘Change your charity’s subtype’. In the form, you can apply to add a new subtype or revoke a current subtype.

Please note that if your charity’s purposes have changed, this needs to be reflected in its governing document. Before approving a request to change a charity’s subtypes, the ACNC will need to see evidence of the change.

The request to change your charity’s subtype needs to be formally reviewed and approved by the ACNC. The Charity Register will not update until the changes to subtypes have been approved.

If your charity is no longer operating, no longer eligible to be registered as a charity, or you simply don’t want to be a registered charity anymore, you can apply to revoke your charity’s registration.

In the Charity Portal, click on your charity’s name, then click on ‘Manage other charity details’. Complete the form ‘Apply to have your charity’s registration revoked’.

In the form, you must explain why you want your charity’s registration revoked, and we will consider a number of factors in deciding to revoke the registration.

One of the considerations is whether your charity has met its reporting obligations. For more, see our Commissioner’s Policy Statement: Voluntary revocation.