Country Overview
Legal forms of philanthropic organizations included in the law: Company Limited by Guarantee, Cooperative, Corporation, Limited Liability Company, Trust, Incorporated Association, Unincorporated Association, Letters Patent, Special Act of Parliament
Main social issues addressed by these organizations: Early Childhood Education through High School, Higher Education, Religion, Social Services, Grantmaking Activities
Average time established by law to register a philanthropic organization: 31-60 days
Average cost for registering a philanthropic organization: USD 0
There is no cost to register a philanthropic organization (PO) with the charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), or to be endorsed for tax concessions with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). However, depending on the structure chosen for a PO, there may be various costs to register with various bodies. For example, registering a ‘company limited by guarantee’ with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) incurs a fee of USD 315, registering an ‘incorporated association’ can vary by state or territory, and some structures like trusts do not require registration with any body other than the ACNC and therefore incur no fee. The legal and tax advice for certain types of registration can be higher where the structure or its activities are more complex, and there can also be costs associated with legal advice associated with more complex applications for a fundraising license from a state or territory.
Government levels primarily regulating the incorporation of philanthropic organizations: Central/Federal Government, State government
Australia is a federal system with laws at the federal, state/territorial, and local level applicable to POs. In addition, seven out of eight states and territories have legislation to regulate fundraising, and each attorney-general has inherent responsibility to supervise charitable trusts, although the extent of oversight from attorneys-general is generally rather limited. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (ACNC Act) and the Charities Act 2013 govern eligibility of a nonprofit entity to be registered as a charity for federal purposes, with the ACNC Act setting out various requirements which must be met to maintain registration as a charity. This includes compliance with governance standards, external conducts standards for overseas activities, and reporting requirements. Registration is a prerequisite for access to federal tax concessions (which include an income tax exemption and the ability to accept tax-deductible donations) and other purposes. However, there can be different eligibility criteria for state and territory tax concessions, which are administered by the relevant revenue offices of each jurisdiction.
As Australia is a federal system, responsibility for regulating the incorporation of POs is shared between federal and state/territory levels. For example, a PO may choose to register as an ‘incorporated association’ (a state responsibility) but then would register as a charity with the ACNC in order to access federal tax concessions. It instead may choose to register as a ‘company limited by guarantee’ (a federal responsibility) but would then also register with the ACNC.