In June 2016 the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) revoked the charity status of seven organisations.
All seven revocations followed investigations into the operations and activities of each organisation.
The charities that lost their status include The Trustee For The Turner Foundation, The Trustee For Gulf And West Queensland Economic Foundation Limited Trust and Angelorum Limited.
These charities have 60 days to object to the ACNC’s revocation decisions, in which case they will be reviewed internally.
These organisations will now lose access to Commonwealth charity tax concessions.
Commissioner Susan Pascoe AM said that the recent spate of revocations should be a warning to any registered charity that was deliberately not meeting its obligations or misusing its charitable assets.
“While the vast majority of registered charities are run by good people who are trying to contribute to our communities, there are some that mismanage charities, or worse still, use them as a vehicle for personal gain,” Pascoe said.
“When we find serious circumstances of mismanagement or deliberate breaches of the ACNC Act we will revoke charity status. We make no apology about taking a tough stance where appropriate.
“In the interests of public trust and confidence in the sector, it is important that only legitimate registered charities remain on the ACNC Charity Register.”
Pascoe said that while revocation of charity status was a very serious step, the ACNC’s approach to compliance always starts with education and guidance.
“Our proportionate approach to compliance is centred on working with charities to help them get back on track,” she said.
“Unfortunately, there are instances where guidance and education, or even the other regulatory powers at our disposal are not sufficient and we must move to revoke charity status.
“I encourage members of the public to raise any concerns with the ACNC – they can do this by calling 13 ACNC or by visiting acnc.gov.au/raiseaconcern.”