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The Charitable Purpose
ACNC monthly e-newsletter
March 2025
Commissioner's Column
In anticipation of a federal election, we have updated our advocacy guidance, and we will be promoting that to charities to ensure they understand the rules. Charities can advocate and run campaigns during elections, including evaluating and ranking policies, if it serves their charitable purpose. Charities should be careful not to support or oppose a particular political party or candidate as this will run the risk of being found to have a disqualifying purpose.
Charity news and updates
Guidance and resources for charities
Online learning content
Explore key governance topics with our Governing Charities online learning content. Read detailed guidance, listen to summaries, watch educational videos and test your knowledge with interactive quizzes.
Top level domain: support for NFPs
Some support is available for Australian charities, NFPs and First Nations organisations interested in managing their own Generic Top Level Domain – a new version of a domain like dot.com or dot.org.
2024 Annual Information Statement
Is your charity's Annual Information Statement overdue?
The 2024 Annual Information Statement is now overdue for most charities that operate on a standard financial year (1 July to 30 June) and have not yet submitted it.
If your charity operates on a standard financial year and it hasn't submitted its 2024 Annual Information Statement, submit it now to avoid potential penalties.
For charities that operate on a calendar year (1 Jan to 31 Dec), submit the 2024 Annual Information Statement before the 30 June due date.
Answering your questions
A few of the most common questions we have been hearing from charities recently...
Q. Can a Responsible Person of my charity - such as a director or committee member - support a particular outcome in an election?
Yes – providing it is solely in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the charity.
Care should be taken to ensure that the individual does not give the impression that they are speaking on behalf of the charity. Otherwise, the charity runs the risk of being found to have a disqualifying political purpose of supporting a political party.
Q. Can our charity distribute how–to–vote cards on election day for a particular candidate or party?
No, because the charity will run the risk of being found to have a purpose of promoting or opposing a political party or candidate for political office, which is a disqualifying purpose.
Read our guidance for more information.
Resources for newly-registered charities
Charities must meet ongoing obligations to retain registration. You must notify us each time a Responsible Person (a committee or board member or trustee) commences or resigns from a position. Learn more.
Holding an annual general meeting is a good way to be accountable to your members. Read more about AGMs and view our free resources.
Stay up to date
The ACNC acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and elders past and present.
