Five charities lose charity status following ACNC investigations

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has today announced that five organisations have lost their charity status following separate investigations into their activities and operations.

The charities that have had their registration with the ACNC revoked are Kaizen Synergy College, White Coats Charity Incorporated, The Trustee for Storybook Angels for Disabled Animals, Australian Community & Health Foundation Limited, and Beyond Community & Health Inc.

ACNC Commissioner, the Hon Dr Gary Johns confirmed that the decision to revoke charity status is taken seriously and is reserved for the most serious cases of misconduct or mismanagement.

“Following investigations into these charities, we had no alternative but to revoke the registration of these charities with the ACNC,” he said. “Without charity status, these organisations will lose their eligibility for Commonwealth charity tax concessions.”

Dr Johns said the ACNC has an education-first approach to compliance, which aims to help charities get back on track.

“We work with charities to help them establish procedures to protect their charity and ensure it is well run. However, if charities fail to display a commitment to their governance, transparency or accountability, then we will take the appropriate regulatory action,” Dr Johns said.

All registered charities must report annually, and meet the ACNC Governance Standards, a set of minimum standards that require charities to operate lawfully and be run in a responsible manner.

The announcement that four charities have been stripped of their registration following ACNC investigations comes soon after the regulator announced that more than 2,000 charities face revocation for failing to submit their annual reporting.

Charities have 60 days to object to an ACNC revocation decision. The ACNC cannot disclose further details about the investigations due to secrecy provisions in the ACNC Act. A summary of enforcement action taken by the ACNC as a result of an investigation, can be viewed on the Compliance Decisions page of the ACNC website.

Pearl Dy

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Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.

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