Further to my blog of 16 November 2012, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill 2012 was given the Royal Assent on 3 December 2012, and therefore the much anticipated Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is now open for business. The ACNC is responsible for registering charities, providing education and support, maintaining the ACNC register and ensuring compliance with the introduction of annual reporting by registered charities.
If your organisation is a charity that has been endorsed by the ATO to receive charity tax concessions prior to 3 December 2012, your organisation will automatically be registered with the ACNC and a search of the register is now available at http://www,acnc.gov.au by filling in the name of your organisation and its ABN.
Whilst the role of registering a charity has been transferred to the ACNC, the ATO remains responsible for providing its consent to an organisation’s eligibility for tax concessions. New organisations will be able to apply to the ACNC for registration as a charity as well as apply to the ATO for tax concessions in the same application form. Once the application has been accepted by the ACNC, your organisation’s details will be transferred to the ATO to decide which tax concessions could be available to your charity.
For further information, please contact the author.
This article is posted in Adelaide, South Australia by Tri-meridian Corporate & Commercial Law and is intended to be used as a guide only. It is not, and is not intended to be, advice on any specific matter. We do not accept responsibility for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance upon the content of this article. Before acting on the basis of any material in this article, we recommend that you consult your professional adviser.
