“I have extended the reporting deadline for charities using the standard 1 July to 30 June financial year from 31 December 2013, to 31 March 2014, given that this is the first time charities have had to submit this information,” said Pascoe.

“Charities that still need to complete their 2013 Annual Information Statement (AIS) can log onto the The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Charity Portal via www.acnc.gov.au/2013ais using the organisation’s ABN as a username and the password that we sent in early December 2013.”

The information provided is largely uploaded to the ACNC Register, which gives members of the public and donors a reliable source of information about all registered charities. Analysis of the submissions have found:

• The majority (35 per cent) of submissions are from New South Wales charities, followed by Victoria (23 per cent) and Queensland (19 per cent)
• Charities who reported that they work to help people overseas most commonly listed India, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia
• Small charities have been the most proactive in submitting information and account for 67 precent of submissions. Medium charities account for 16 per cent and large charities make up 17 per cent.

The ‘advancement of education’ has been the most common charitable purpose amongst respondents.