ACNC News

ACNC Commissioner Sue Woodward AM has welcomed the opportunity for the definition of Public Benevolent Institution to be tested in the Federal Court of Australia. Ms Woodward said the definition of PBI is important.

The Assistant Minister responsible for the ACNC has announced the new ACNC Advisory Board.

The ACNC corporate plan for 2023-24 has been published with some new and expanded performance measures as well as a focus on reducing the overall regulatory burden on charities.

The ACNC has published an updated Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement (CIS) on Health Promotion Charities following consultation with the sector. The CIS explains the ACNC’s view of how Health Promotion Charity is defined.

The latest official data shows Australia’s charity sector generated $190 billion in revenue and employed 10.5 % of the workforce, highlighting its significance to the Australian economy and community. The ACNC today released the ninth edition of the Australian Charities Report.

As many charities prepare to submit their Annual Information Statement by 30 June, it is a good time to check that you can log into the Charity Portal, and once you are logged in, that you can see your charity listed. It is important that you are listed on your charity’s record as a Responsible Person or Authorised person, have access to the Charity Portal and understand how to report.  

Charities registered with the ACNC who plan to fundraise in Queensland no longer need to register separately with the QLD Office of Fair Trading.  

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has welcomed the allocation of funding in the 2023-24 Federal Budget to allow the ACNC to disclose information about certain regulatory activities. This amounts to $2.9 million over the next four years, with $600,000 per year after that on an ongoing basis.

Changes to the ACNC Charity Register have made it even easier to use - with advanced filters now available on the main page.

From the 2023 Annual Information Statement (AIS), all charities except for Basic Religious Charities will be asked to report their related party transactions to the ACNC, due to changes announced in November 2021.