The Charitable Purpose

ACNC monthly e-newsletter

October 2022

Commissioner's Column

I was delighted to meet so many charities and sector stakeholders at the Philanthropy Australia National Conference in Sydney last month. I participated in a panel discussion titled ‘The opportunities to grow structured giving’ and outlined the ACNC’s contributions to this objective.

One of the ACNC’s objects is to support and sustain a robust, vibrant and independent charity sector. This is because to pursue charitable purposes, charities need to be innovative, resilient and responsive to emerging needs within the community.

Read the full Commissioner's Column

Charity news and updates

An image of a blue piggy bank with someone putting money into it with the words "progress on harmonisation of fundraising laws"

An image of 4 people with their hands up with the words "Expression of interest now open to join ACNC Advisory Board"

An image of a laptop with the ACNC Annual Information Statement webpage on it with the words "charities with outstanding reporting urged to get up to date, or risk revocation".

A photo of accounting spreadsheets and calculator and pen with the words "Have your say: AASB Discussion Paper - Development of Simplified Accounting Requirements"

an image of 8 hands holding a red toy heart with the words "Elections spark interest in charity advocacy

Guidance and resources for charities

Governing a Registered Charity in Australia

Our new short course 'Governing a Registered Charity in Australia' is one of eight courses designed to support charity leaders. Learn more about this course by clicking the link below.

Take the course

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Next free webinar -
19 October

Join us on Wednesday 19 October for our next webinar which will explore fraud threats that charities may face as well provide guidance on the ways charities can protect themselves against fraud.

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2022 Annual Information Statement

Charities that operate on a standard financial year (1 July to 30 June) must submit their 2022 Annual Information Statement prior to 31 January.

Remember there have been changes to charity size thresholds and key management personnel reporting. You can learn more about the changes, and what you need to know before completing your charity's AIS on the AIS Hub page.

Get in early, beat the rush and submit via the Portal now.

Submit via the Charity Portal now

Stay up to date with all the latest charity news via our social media channels:

Answering your questions

A few of the most common questions we have been hearing from charities recently...

Q. I am trying to find our registered charity number. Where is it?

A: The ACNC does not provide charities we register with a ‘charity number’. The ACNC will only register a charity based on its ABN and use this as its unique identifier.

If you are filling in a grant application or similar and it requests your charity number, you could provide your charity’s ABN.

Q: Do we need to send the ACNC minutes of our Annual General Meeting?

A: No. While it is important to record and retain minutes of your charity’s meetings – including both regular meetings and AGMs – charities do not need to provide them to the ACNC for the purposes of updating details.

You can read more about keeping charity records on our website.

Q: How can I find a record of my charity’s previously submitted Annual Information Statements?

A: If you are logged into the Charity Portal, you will be able to download a copy of past Annual Information Statements from the Portal’s ‘Manage reporting’ section, after scrolling down on the page.

Alternatively, you can search the public Charity Register. Go to acnc.gov.au/charity, and ‘Search by charity’. Here you can enter your charity’s ABN and select it as the result.

The ‘Financials & Documents’ tab will list your charity’s past Annual Information Statements and financial reports.

We register hundreds of new charities every month. You can view the list of newly registered charities by clicking on the button below.

View the list

Welcome to the new charities that were registered with the ACNC in September 2022.

photo of documents with text that says 'resources for newly registered charities'

To remain eligible for registration, charities must meet ongoing obligations.

Each time a Responsible Person (a committee or board member or trustee) commences or resigns from their position, you must notify us. Learn more about notifying the ACNC.

Holding an Annual General Meeting is a good way to be accountable to your members. Read more about AGMs and view our free resources.

In the spirit of reconciliation, 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, present and emerging.