The Charities Commission - Komihana Kaupapa Atawhai - registers and monitors charities in accordance with the Charities Act 2005.
We also provide support and education to the charitable sector on good governance and management.
Click on the quicklinks on the right-hand side of this page to:
If you are already registered with us you can click on the quick links to find out more about notifying us about changes to your charity, filing Annual Returns and how to promote your registration status.
Our free information line 0508 CHARITIES (0508 242 748) is available for telephone enquiries from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday. You can also email your questions to info@charities.govt.nz.
As at 22 June 2009 we have registered 22,318 charities.
As well as providing searchable information about individual charities, the Charities Register can give a “snapshot” of the charitable sector in New Zealand.
Take a look, to see where charities are operating, their main activities, who they are helping, and the sectors they are operating in.Registered charities must file an Annual Return with the Commission, within six months of their balance date.
Annual Return information helps the Commission monitor registered charities to ensure they continue to qualify for registration and provides information to the public about how charities carry out their charitable purpose.
Annual Returns and accompanying financial information are published on the Charities Register. View the Annual Return info sheet for more information about filing a return.
The Commission has recently published:
Previous SOIs and Annual Reports are archived under Publications
Remember – you can apply to register with the Commission at any time
If your organisation is new or is seeking charitable-purpose tax exemptions for the first time, you must be registered with us to be eligible for tax exemptions.
Our information finder will help you find out more about how and when to apply for registration, your tax status and more.
If your charity had a charitable-purpose tax exemption before 1 July 2008, that exemption has now expired, and you need to be registered with us to be eligible for future tax exemptions.
Volunteer Awareness Week
This is Volunteer Awareness Week, so why not join in celebrating all the many people who already volunteer, or get involved yourself?
Volunteer Awareness Week, which ends on June 21, highlights the wide range of volunteering roles, and encourages first-timers to give volunteering a go. The theme for 2009 is "youth and the contribution they make".
There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer, available through many of the charities registered with the Charities Commission, and through the wider 97,000-strong voluntary community organisations spread throughout the country.
If you are unsure which opportunity to take up, take a look at http://www.volunteernow.org.nz/
Volunteer Facts:
* Volunteers have a huge impact economically, culturally and socially in New Zealand.
* Each year more than one million New Zealanders volunteer for one or more of New Zealand's 97,000 non-profit organisations - including many of our 22,000+ registered charities - a contribution worth more than $3 billion to our economy.
* Statistics NZ reports that 90% of community groups in New Zealand function entirely on unpaid labour.