Disappointingly, the ACNC has had to revoke the registration of over 550 charities in the past week because they failed over successive years to complete their annual reporting to ACNC.
Last month, more than 700 charities were notified their registration could be revoked as they had failed to submit two or more Annual Information Statements. Encouragingly 150 of those charities have either submitted their outstanding Annual Information Statements or engaged with the ACNC about an extension to avoid revocation.
Acting ACNC Commissioner Deborah Jenkins said while many of these charities may have wound up or merged with another organisation, they still have an obligation to notify the ACNC.
“It is the responsibility of those who lead charities to comply with their obligations. To maintain registration, Annual Information Statements must be submitted each reporting period, and if it winds up or merges, the charity must submit a form to let us know,” Ms Jenkins said.
“The Charity Register is a key tool for the public, donors, grantmakers, policymakers and others to check the credentials of Australia’s 60,000 registered charities. It is our job to ensure that data on the Register, that people rely on, is accurate and up to date. Transparency and good governance underpin the public confidence which the sector depends on.”
All charities registered with the ACNC must meet certain obligations to maintain registration. These include reporting to the ACNC annually, notifying certain changes and ensuring activities are in line with a charity’s stated purposes. If it is no longer operating or has wound up, it should request its registration be revoked, via a request form in the Charity Portal.
Charities that have been revoked can apply to be re-registered once they provide us with all of their outstanding reports. The ACNC strongly encourages all charities to keep their annual reporting up to date to avoid revocation, loss of charity tax concessions and having to re-register.