When you apply to register as a charity with the ACNC, you can also apply for charity tax concessions. We will send your application for tax concessions on to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), who will decide your organisation's eligibility for tax concessions.
Benefits of registration
Access to charity tax concessions and other benefits
Registered charities can:
- apply for charity tax concessions as a charity (such as income tax exemption or goods and services tax concessions) from the ATO (your charity must be registered before you can apply for concessions)
- apply for additional tax benefits as a public benevolent institution (PBI), health promotion charity (HPC) or charity for the advancement of religion
- apply for certain categories of deductible gift recipient (DGR) status – some categories are only available to registered charities.
There are some additional concessions and benefits that may be available to some charities, including:
- a fee waiver for a classification application (for example, for a film)
- concessional rates for custom imports duty for goods donated to your registered charity by an overseas person, organisation or company.
Publicly confirming registration by the national regulator
Registered charities can:
- display the Tick of Charity Registration on documents (such as on the charity's letterhead, emails and website) to publicly demonstrate your charity’s ACNC registration
- have a free online presence on the ACNC Charity Register where the public, potential donors and funding agencies can find out information about them.
Reducing the regulatory burden on charities
We work with other government agencies and stakeholders to reduce red tape for charities, including by aligning regulatory requirements for registered charities to streamline reporting requirements.
Read more about red tape reduction.
Exemptions from requirements under Commonwealth laws
Registered charities may be exempt from certain requirements under Commonwealth laws if they engage in the following activities:
- playing sound recordings – registered charities may be permitted to play sound recordings in a club or guesthouse without breaching copyright
- making unsolicited calls – registered charities can contact numbers listed on the Do Not Call Register
- sending unsolicited emails – registered charities can send unsolicited (spam) emails, but they still need to include their contact details
- broadcasting – registered charities may be permitted to retransmit a broadcasting service if they are providing retransmission services for the purpose of obtaining or improving reception within certain communities
- discrimination – registered charities may be exempt from breaching discrimination law if they are acting according to their governing rules, which allows them to provide charitable benefits to persons with a particular protected attribute (for example, disability, age or sex).