The ACNC commissioned the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney to analyse the ways Australia’s charities were growing and changing between 2014 and 2016, using information provided in Annual Information Statements.
Key findings
- The total income of the 45,455 charities included in the reports increased by 10% - from $110.7 billion in 2014 to $121.8 billion in 2016 (not all charities are required to provide reports).
- Total expenditure grew 12.7%, from $101.0 billion in 2014 to $113.9 billion in 2016.
- Total charity assets increased by 14.8% from 2014 to 2016.
- Donations and bequests increased by 14.8% - a value of $1 billion.
- The most common main activities for Australia’s charities are ‘religious activities’ and ‘education and research’.
- The number of paid employees increased by 4.4%.
- During the period, the ACNC revoked the charity status of 11,698 and registered 9,044 new charities.