The national charity regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), has revoked the charity status of House of Hope Recovery Centre following an investigation into the organisation’s activities and operations.
House of Hope Recovery Centre was also known as Illawarra Food Hub, The Hope Centre and Hope Centre Foodbarn.
Revocation of charity status removes the organisation’s Commonwealth charity tax concessions including deductible gift recipient status, income tax exemption, fringe benefits tax rebates and goods and services tax concessions.
House of Hope Recovery Centre was registered as a charity by the Australian Taxation Office and transferred to the ACNC on 3 December 2012 – the day the ACNC was established. The organisation was registered with the purpose of advancing religion and as a Public Benevolent Institution.
The revocation is reflected on the Charity Register. However, the ACNC is prevented from publishing the findings from investigations, or the nature of the concerns due to secrecy provisions in the ACNC Act.
ACNC Commissioner, the Hon Dr Gary Johns, said revocation of charity status was reserved from the most serious of cases.
“Today I am able to announce that House of Hope Recovery Centre has lost its charity status,” Dr Johns said.
“By revoking the charity status of House of Recovery Centre, the organisation is no longer able to access Commonwealth charity tax concessions.
“Concerns about charities come to light in a number of ways, through our own internal analysis, from the public, or in the media. We receive over 150 concerns every month, and we take each seriously.
“If members of the public have concerns about a charity, they’re encouraged to raise them via the ACNC website acnc.gov.au.”
-ends-
More information
- The Charity Register listing: House of Hope Recovery Centre