Almost a third of all newly-registered Victorian charities – some 92 organisations out of 283 – sought to help people with disabilities, with the cause ranked fourth compared to fifth nationally.

Findings were based on analysis of the first 1,000 organisations to register as charities since the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) was established in December last year.

“The fact that – in just eight months of operation – the ACNC has registered 1,000 organisations indicates that the not-for-profit sector is growing at a rate of more than 100 new charities each month,” says ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AM.

“This is a credit to the spirit of volunteering and philanthropy in Australia,” says Pascoe.

Victoria ranked second overall for total new charity registrations (283) behind NSW (307), while South Australia showed the highest rate of new registrations relative to its population.

The ACNC found Victoria had the highest number of new charities that aimed to benefit unemployed people, while those that helped the homeless and the elderly ranked equal seventh compared to tenth nationally.

Another key finding was Victorian organisations’ relatively high annual revenue.

Small charities with revenue less than $250,000 still constituted the majority in Victoria as in the rest of Australia, however large and medium charities (each 14 per cent) in Victoria exceeded the national average of approximately 10 per cent.

A significant proportion of the new Victorian charities also had larger boards, with 11 organisations listing 13 members compared to a national average of just three. One Victorian charity listed 25 board members – the highest number reported nationally.