The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has revoked the charity registration of three organisations following investigations into their operations.

The organisations are:

• Brighter Horizons Limited
• Walking Wounded Ltd
• Gulf Aboriginal Development Company Limited

The charities have 60 days from their respective dates of revocation to object to the ACNC’s revocation decisions, in which case they would be reviewed internally.

Acting ACNC Commissioner Murray Baird, said the regulator takes concerns about the operations of charities seriously and will revoke charity registration where organisations are not entitled to be on the Register or are not meeting the standards required of registered charities.

“Louis Brandeis famously said sunlight is the best disinfectant,” Baird said.

“Part of the ACNC’s role is to shine a light on Australia’s charity sector, and take action where there has been wrongdoing.

“The ACNC is committed to protecting public trust and confidence in Australia’s charity sector.”

Baird said the charity regulator continuously works with the public, and the sector, to identify and investigate charities that are deliberately breaching the ACNC Act.

“We receive approximately 60 concerns every month, and the majority of these are raised by members of the public. A large proportion are also from the charity sector itself,” he said.

“We assess all concerns, and investigate where appropriate, to ensure all charities registered with the ACNC are transparent and accountable.

“I encourage anyone with concerns about a charity to contact us by calling 13 ACNC or by visiting our website at acnc.gov.au/raiseaconcern.”

Brighter Horizons Limited

The revocation of Brighter Horizons Limited was backdated to 4 August 2016.

According to the Australian Business Register (ABR), Brighter Horizons Limited has been operating since 2014 and is based in Queensland.

It was endorsed by the ATO to access the following Commonwealth tax concessions:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) Concession, and
• Income Tax Exemption.

Walking Wounded Ltd

The revocation of Walking Wounded Ltd was backdated to 16 October 2014.

According to the ABR, Walking Wounded Ltd has been operating since 2014 and is based in Queensland.

It was endorsed by the ATO as a deductible gift recipient (DGR), and also had access to the following Commonwealth tax concessions:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) Concession,
• Income Tax Exemption, and
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Rebate.

Gulf Aboriginal Development Company Limited

The revocation of the Gulf Development Company Limited was backdated to 1 July 2013.

According to the ABR, the organisation has been operating since 2000 and is based in Queensland.

It was endorsed by the ATO to access the following Commonwealth tax concessions:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) Concession,
• Income Tax Exemption, and
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Rebate.

All three organisations will lose access to Commonwealth charity tax concessions following the revocation of their registration as a charity.

Walking Wounded has been contacted for commentary.