The national charity regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), has revoked the charity status of three organisations following investigations into their activities and operations.
The organisations are:
- African Australian Network Limited
- Global Helping Hands Foundation – Australia
- Immigrant Womens’ Health Information Service Inc
These charities have 60 days to object to the ACNC’s revocation decisions, in which case they will be reviewed internally. Following referral by the ACNC to the Australian Taxation Office, all three organisations will lose access to Commonwealth charity tax concessions. This includes the loss of DGR endorsement.
The ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe, said the ACNC is committed to protecting public trust and confidence in Australia’s charity sector.
“We are continuously working with the public, the sector and other government agencies to identify and investigate charities that breach the ACNC Act,” Commissioner Pascoe said.
“When investigating compliance issues, the ACNC has a range of regulatory powers at its disposal, including guidance and support, warnings, directions and enforceable undertakings.
“Where we find serious circumstances of mismanagement, or deliberate breaches of the ACNC Act or Governance Standards, we will revoke charity status.”
African Australian Network Limited
African Australian Network Limited has been operating since September 2013 and is based in Victoria.
It was endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a deductible gift recipient (DGR), and was also endorsed to access the following Commonwealth tax concessions as a public benevolent institution:
- GST Concession,
- Income Tax Exemption, and
- FBT Rebate.
The decision to revoke charity status, which was announced on 17 July 2017, was backdated to 19 May 2017.
Global Helping Hands Foundation – Australia
Global Helping Hands Foundation – Australia has been operating since November 2007 and is based in Victoria.
It was endorsed by the ATO as a DGR, and was also endorsed to access the following Commonwealth tax concessions as a public benevolent institution:
- GST Concession,
- Income Tax Exemption, and
- FBT Rebate.
The decision to revoke charity status, which was announced on 17 July 2017, was backdated to 5 May 2017.
Immigrant Womens’ Health Information Service Inc
Immigrant Womens’ Health Information Service Inc has been operating since July 2000 and is based in NSW.
It was endorsed by the ATO as a DGR, and was also endorsed to access the following Commonwealth tax concessions as a public benevolent institution:
- GST Concession,
- Income Tax Exemption, and
- FBT Rebate.
The decision to revoke charity status, which was announced on 19 July 2017, was backdated to 20 June 2017.