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Our Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements are developed to help to guide charities, advisers to charities and the public about how we understand the law that applies to charities. This includes explaining relevant legislation, law made by judges (common law) and other legal issues.

Although Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements do not have the force of binding rulings, ACNC officers will apply the law as described in relevant Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements when making decisions. If the law or the Commissioner’s interpretation of the law changes, we will update any Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement affected by the change.

If a change to the law or the Commissioner’s interpretation of the law may affect a charity’s entitlement to registration, we will give the charity reasonable time to consider the implications before we consider taking any regulatory action.

We will ensure that charities that rely on our Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements are treated fairly, consistent with our objects and Regulatory Approach Statement.

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Commissioner's Interpretation Statement: Meaning of 'Government Entity'

The purpose of this Commissioner's Interpretation Statement is to provide guidance on the meaning of ‘government entity’ in the Charities Act 2013 (Cth). It relates to the definition of ‘charity’ set out in s 5 of the Charities Act, which provides that a ‘charity’ cannot be a ‘government entity’.
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Commissioner's Interpretation Statement: Indigenous charities

This Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement provides guidance on how the ACNC applies particular aspects of charity law to Indigenous organisations seeking registration as charities, and how those organisations can meet the ACNC’s requirements. This Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement is issued under the authority of the Commissioner.