This page provides answers to some of the common questions the ACNC receives about the changes for organisations that have been self-assessing as income tax exempt.
A not-for-profit is an organisation that does not operate for the profit, personal gain or other benefit of particular people (for example, its members, the people who run the organisation, or their friends or relatives).
A registered charity is a type of not-for-profit organisation. In addition to being not-for-profit, a charity registered with the ACNC must have only charitable purposes that are for the public benefit. Registered charities must not have a disqualifying purpose, or be an individual, political party or government entity.
For more information, see our guidance on the legal meaning of charity.
An organisation can demonstrate it is a not-for-profit through its governing document.
Your organisation may have a not-for-profit clause in its governing document that sets out how its assets and income are to be used and distributed.
Your governing document may also include a winding up clause that sets out what happens to the organisation’s assets if it dissolves or winds up.
Your organisation’s not-for-profit status may also be demonstrated by its legal structure through the operation of certain laws – such as state or territory incorporated associations legislation, and trust law.
For more information, see our guidance on being a not-for-profit.
The ACNC only registers charities, not non-charitable not-for-profits. If your organisation is a not-for-profit, but not eligible to register as a charity, contact the ATO if you have any questions about being a not-for-profit.
If your organisation is a registered charity, it can be formally endorsed as income tax exempt.
You can search ABN Lookup to check if your organisation has been formally endorsed. You will be able to view your organisation’s charity tax concession status, including income tax exemption.
If your organisation is not a registered charity, and you are unsure if you have been self-assessing as income tax exempt, contact the ATO.
To register as a charity, an organisation must meet the charity registration eligibility criteria, which includes the requirement to be a not-for-profit with solely charitable purposes.
If you are not sure if your organisation is eligible, you can complete our charity registration self-assessment tool, or watch our webinar on charities, not-for-profits and maintaining income tax exemption.
The ACNC only registers charities. If your organisation is not eligible to register as a charity, it cannot register with the ACNC.
For more information about non-charitable not-for-profits, see the ATO’s guidance on registering your not-for-profit. The ATO also has guidance about self-assessing income tax exemption for non-charitable not-for-profits.
No. If your organisation is already a registered charity, it is not affected by the changes to self-assessing income tax exemption.
You can confirm your charity’s registration by searching the ACNC Charity Register. You can also check your charity’s entry on ABN Lookup to see its charity tax concession status, including income tax exemption.
If your organisation was previously registered as a charity with the ACNC, but its registration was revoked, you can apply to register again in the ACNC Charity Portal.
If this is the case, you should apply to re-register from the date your charity’s registration was revoked.
Before you register again, you must address any issues that led to revocation. For example, if your charity registration was revoked for not meeting reporting obligations, you need to submit any overdue reporting first.
You need to submit an online application in the ACNC Charity Portal to register your organisation as a charity. If your organisation is a member of a peak body, you should check with them to see if they intend to submit a bulk charity registration application. If your peak body submits a bulk application on behalf of your organisation, you do not need to also apply online.
We have a registration application checklist and guide outlining the information you need to include in your application, and a list of common registration questions.
We have recently received an unprecedented number of charity registration applications, meaning we are experiencing lengthy delays in assessing applications.
It is currently taking up to 12 weeks for applications to be allocated to an analyst for assessment. Once allocated, we aim to process applications within 15 business days of receiving all required information.
The length of time the registration process takes may also depend on the details of your application, and if we need to ask you for more information.
If your application is missing information, or if we need to request more information from you so we can make a decision, your application will take longer to process.
We will work with you to ensure your application is processed as quickly as possible.
We recommend using our registration checklist to ensure you provide all the information we need so we can make a decision.
When you apply for charity registration with the ACNC, you will be asked the date from which you wish to register your organisation.
The ACNC can only register an organisation on or after the latest of these dates:
- the organisation’s establishment date
- the date on which the organisation’s ABN was made active
- the date on which it meets the requirements to be registered as a charity
- 3 December 2012 (the date that the ACNC was established).
If you want to backdate your organisation’s charity registration, you will need to demonstrate that it was eligible for registration from the date of backdating.
Organisations that have been self-assessing for income tax exemption up until now may have been operating for many years. The ATO intends taking a practical compliance approach, focusing its resources on ensuring organisations are assessing their income tax exemption correctly from 1 July 2023 onwards.
However, the ATO may take compliance action if it identifies deliberate tax evasion or fraudulent behaviour prior to the 2023-24 income year.
You can read our guidance for organisations that have been self-assessing as income tax exempt, and visit the ATO website for information about not-for-profits and income tax exemption.
No – only non-charitable not-for-profits can self-assess.
If your organisation is eligible to register as a charity, it cannot self-assess. Instead, it can apply to register as a charity and be formally endorsed by the ATO as income tax exempt.
If your organisation does not register as a charity, it will be considered taxable. This means you may need to lodge an annual income tax return (or notify the ATO that a return is not necessary).
For more information, see the ATO’s guidance on not-for-profits and income tax exemption.
Charities have ongoing obligations to the ACNC that they must meet in order to remain registered. These obligations are to: