Thousands of Charities Could Lose Status

The national charity regulator has warned more than 2,000 organisations that they facing losing their charity status if they do not update their paperwork immediately.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) said that the group of charities, known as “double defaulters”, had failed to submit two Annual Information Statements in a row.

If the organisations do not respond to the ACNC’s warning they could lose their charity registration.

ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AM, said that the majority of charities completed their reporting on time.

“The Australian public can be assured that the majority of registered charities are transparent and meet their ACNC obligations,” Pascoe said.

“However, there is an identified group of charities that have failed to meet their legal obligations despite being issued with multiple reminders and warnings.”

Pascoe urged the double defaulter charities to take action and submit their outstanding reports immediately.

“Charities that have become double defaulters must submit their two overdue Annual Information Statements to avoid revocation,” she said.

“Revocation of charity status is serious and will result in the charity being de-registered by the ACNC and losing access to Commonwealth charity tax concessions, which are administered by the Australian Taxation Office.”

Pascoe also said it was important to submit the overdue statements to ensure charity profiles on the ACNC Charity Register were accurate and up to date.

“The ACNC Charity Register… is the place that the public go to find details on Australia’s 54,000 registered charities,” she said.

“An accurate and up-to-date profile on the ACNC Charity Register demonstrates to the public a commitment to accountability and transparency. This also provides donors and grant-makers confidence that the charity is well-governed with good financial management.

“Just as importantly, it also provides an insight into the excellent work that the charity is doing in the community.”
Since its establishment in December 2012, the ACNC has removed from the Charity Register or revoked the registration of more than 13,000 charities.

“We have made significant progress in cleaning up the Charity Register over the past three years to ensure the public has access to a reliable resource,” Pascoe said.

“Revoking the registrations of charities that fail to meet their obligations is an important part of this process. Of course, we would prefer that all legitimate charities meet their obligations on time, and remain on the register to continue serving the Australian community. That is why we have taken many steps to remind them, before resorting to this final action”

Charities can submit their outstanding Annual Information Statements by logging into the charity portal at charity.acnc.gov.au.