On 29 March 2018, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, declared the Tathra bushfires (Bega Valley Shire of New South Wales) a disaster for the purposes of establishing Australian disaster relief funds.

New and existing funds who provide relief to people in the communities affected by the bushfires are eligible for Deductable Gift Recipient (DGR) status, which will allow them to receive tax deductible donations for a period of two years from 18 March 2018.

The ACNC and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will work together to process DGR applications and register new charities to help those affected.

“The ACNC would also like to offer our support to the Tathra community and thank the charities that have already provided much needed assistance following the bushfires,” the Charity regulator said in a statement.

“Devastating events such as these often bring out great generosity in people and we encourage those who want to donate to search for charities using the ACNC Charity Register, our searchable database of Australia’s registered charities.”