More Charities Lose ACNC Registration

Another 149 charities have had their registrations revoked by the national charity regulator for failing to submit their required Annual Information Statements for two years, including a foundation set up by a high-profile Queensland cancer patient.

“Many of the 149 charities were identified as charities that had likely ceased operating. All of them had unclaimed mail returned to the ACNC on their behalf and had not responded to ACNC attempts at contact,” head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Susan Pascoe AM said.

A public notice was published on the ACNC website on 12 April 2016 with a full list of the charities that were in danger of having their registrations revoked. The notice warned the listed charities of the ACNC’s intention to revoke their registrations and asked them to submit outstanding statements by 10 May 2016.

One of the deregistered organisations is the Queensland-based Fred Pham Foundation set up by high-profile cancer sufferer and Vietnamese immigrant Fred Pham.

“The Fred Pham Foundation was established with purpose to raise the funds, coordinate and manage the funds, and distribute it to the general community in Australia via registered charity organisations,” the ACNC website said.

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) said Fred Pham was a supporter of its organisation.

Before his death, Fred Pham’s Walk Of Life campaign raised more than $40,000 for cancer research.

“The foundation is more than pleased to announce that Mr Pham has taken first place as the top individual fundraiser for the 2010 City2Surf,” the ACRF website said.

“The simply unstoppable Fred Pham raised more than $30,000 for the ACRF and as the highest individual fundraiser attracted a further $10,000 donation from race organisers. Now many in the Vietnamese community of Australia are rallying to honour one of their most illustrious members and to boost his fundraising efforts, as they say thank you to Australia upon commemorating 35 years of Vietnamese-Australian settlement.”

The fundraiser, for whom a street in Doolandella was named after him, passed away in 2010 leaving his wife and five children.

Photo: ACRF

Attempts to contact his family about the future of the foundation have been unsuccessful.

ACNC records showed that in its last statement for 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 the Fred Pham Foundation showed on its balance sheet extract with an income of more than $30,000.

The ACNC said charities have a legal obligation to report to the ACNC annually through the Annual Information Statement.

“These [deregistered] organisations will also lose access to the Commonwealth tax concessions they were entitled to as registered charities. These concessions are administered by the ATO.”

For more information about the revocation process and the full list of charities that had their registrations revoked, visit here.