ACNC News

The head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission says significant achievements in a year of change and uncertainty are set out in the ACNC annual report, tabled in Parliament today.

It is Charity Fraud Awareness week, an annual, international campaign that aims to stop charity fraud. As we start to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic a key theme of the campaign is that it is more important than ever for the sector to come together, share resources and stop charity fraud.

On 17 September 2021, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal handed down a decision in the matter of Global Citizen Limited and the Commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

In recent reviews, the ACNC has found five charities that received significant donations in response to the 2019-20 bushfires acted appropriately.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has revoked the registrations of 420 Australian charities that have failed to submit two or more required Annual Information Statements.

A charity based in the Northern Territory and another in Queensland are making the most of a new opportunity to showcase their programs and program locations on the ACNC Charity Register.

A charity that took part in the ACNC’s landmark 2019-2020 Bushfires Review has taken further steps to be transparent about the way it has used donated funds. ACNC Commissioner Dr Gary Johns welcomed a report released at the end of August by the Australian Red Cross.

Charities are being urged to regularly check they are maintaining their entitlement to registration to ensure they are meeting their obligations to the ACNC.

Hundreds of charities are at risk of losing their ACNC charity registration because they have failed to submit two or more Annual Information Statements.

Upcoming changes will require the ACNC Commissioner to publish and maintain information on the Charity Register about where to find details of electoral expenditure and political donations of registered charities.