Supporting disaster relief

The ACNC Charity Register features information about charities registered by the ACNC.

If a charity appears on the Register, it has met our requirements for registration under the ACNC Act.

On the Register, you can check that the charity's reporting is up to date, and look at its operational and financial information.

You can search for a charity on the Register by name or by Australian Business Number (ABN). You can also use the Register's program search function to look for specific services or activities that charities may be undertaking. You can filter your search based on the location and who the charity helps.

When searching the Charity Register, it is important to remember that:

• charity registration is not compulsory, and an organisation does not need to be a registered charity to legitimately fundraise
• some charities may be registered but have permission from the ACNC to have some of their information withheld from appearing on the Register
• not all charities are eligible to receive tax deductible donations.

Fundraising is not regulated by the ACNC, it is regulated at a state and territory level. See our Fundraising Hub to find the regulator in your state and territory.

You can check with the relevant fundraising regulator to see if the charity you want to support is registered to fundraise in your location.

In an emergency, state and territory governments will sometimes endorse a charity or not-for-profit to coordinate a public appeal to support a response to a natural disaster.

Charities involved in disaster relief may specify the type of support they would prefer from donors.

While some charities may wish to receive goods – for example, non-perishable foods, blankets, medical items or items that can help with accommodation issues – there may be situations where charities will prefer monetary donations.

This might be because the charity is unable to properly store donated goods, or may wish to use monetary donations to purchase specific items for those it is trying to support.

Check with the charity before making any donations.

While the vast majority of charities genuinely work hard when undertaking disaster relief efforts, there are examples of individuals opportunistically setting up scams.

Scammers may approach you in person, over the phone or by sending emails or letters that purport to be form genuine charities.

• If you receive a call from someone claiming to represent a charity, you can ask to call them back. Search for the charity on the ACNC Charity Register and use the phone number published there.
• Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails – delete them.
• Do not provide your personal, credit card or online bank account details over the phone.
• Always ask for identification from door-to-door and street fundraising collectors.

If you think that there is something wrong or suspect you may be subject to an approach from a scammer purporting to represent a charity, contact the charity directly and alert them of your concerns.

You can also visit the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch website for a list of known scams, and information on how to avoid scams.