Kirra recently joined the committee of a not-for-profit organisation and went to see chartered accountant GAIL FREEMAN, confused about the role of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and Access Canberra.

“I’M not surprised you’re confused; it is confusing,” I said. 

“Firstly, your organisation has to register with Access Canberra and have your rules approved and receive a certificate of incorporation as an incorporated association. 

“The next thing is to register the organisation with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as a charity.

“Once this registration is received and your charity wishes to receive tax-deductible gifts you will need to get approval from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to become a deductible gift recipient (DGR). That is, provided your charity satisfies the necessary requirements for this based on the nature of the organisation and its charitable activities. 

“It is also relevant to note there are some types of charities that have to be registered by another government department before application is made to the ATO. 

“The approval may take some time depending on whether or not you can self-assess. You may, at this stage, need to make changes to your rules if the ATO requires you to do so. If this is the case you will have to notify both the ACNC and Access Canberra about the rule change.”

Kirra said: “Now I understand why I am so confused!”

But there’s more, I said, listing a few other important things she needed to know. 

“If you are changing the address you do this only through the ACNC, which notifies Access Canberra,” I told her.

“Every time a committee member resigns or is appointed or positions on the board change, you need to notify the ACNC. You need to do this after every AGM as well. 

“As you know, your charity will have a public officer and when the public officer changes this needs to be notified to the ATO and Access Canberra as the ACNC does not keep records of public officers. The public officer is the person who signs the BAS and tax returns, if these are required.

“The annual information report is also submitted to the ACNC online and not to Access Canberra. If the association closes down it needs to notify Access Canberra.

“For completeness and in case your association ever decides to change to a company limited by guarantee, the legal requirements are quite different. 

“A company limited by guarantee has to be registered with ASIC and ACNC and the ATO, but not with Access Canberra. The company must also notify the ACNC of all changes of directors. 

“Any change to the company’s constitution needs to be notified to ACNC. Certain other requirements for the company are based on ACNC governance standards. So, if your organisation does follow this route, you will need to refresh yourself on all necessary requirements.”

Kirra said: “Thanks, Gail. While it’s all very confusing, I now have a much clearer picture. I think…”

If you need assistance with the incorporated association of which you are a member and its tax status, contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co on 6295 2844, email info@gailfreeman.com.au or visit gailfreeman.com.au

Disclaimer
This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser.