The Charities Commission Board has confirmed its position about registering overseas charities and New Zealand based charities that carry out activities overseas.

This information confirms our position about registering charities that are based overseas or carry out activities overseas. We have divided these charities into two categories:

1. Overseas entities - entities that are set up and based overseas and carry out activities here and in other countries.  The Charities Act cannot be applied outside New Zealand because, generally, laws do not apply outside the country in which they are made. So, overseas entities must be either established in New Zealand or have a very strong connection to New Zealand so that we can monitor them and enforce the Act.
2. New Zealand entities - entities that are set up and based in New Zealand and carry out all or part of their activities overseas.  A New Zealand entity will not fail the charitable purpose test simply because it has an overseas purpose or its public benefit is directed outside New Zealand.

The Charities Act 2005 does not specifically deal with overseas entities or New Zealand entities that carry out charitable activities overseas. We assess each application we receive on a case-by-case basis, with reference to the requirements of the Charities Act and decisions made in earlier court cases, to decide whether the organisation applying has a charitable purpose and public benefit. We call this the 'charitable purpose test'.