New charity regulator operations

From 3 December 2012, there is a new national regulator for charities, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

The ACNC is responsible for determining charity status for all federal tax purposes. As part of its status determinations, the ACNC also decides whether a charity is a public benevolent institution (PBI) or health promotion charity (HPC).

The ATO will continue to be responsible for administering tax concessions relevant to charities, including:

• income tax exemption
• FBT rebate or exemption
• GST charity concessions
• deductible gift recipient (DGR) status.

Registration with the ACNC is voluntary. However, ACNC registration is now a prerequisite for charities to access .

If your organisation was endorsed by the ATO as a charity to access charity tax concessions immediately before 3 December 2012, your organisation is automatically registered with the ACNC and you do not have to re-register.