Charities Commission

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The Charities Commission is your first port of call on issues affecting New Zealand charities.

Background

The Charities Commission was established on 1 July 2005 as an autonomous Crown Entity.

It is headed by Chief Executive Trevor Garrett and governed by a Board appointed by the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Hon Ruth Dyson.

Functions

The functions of the Charities Commission are determined by the Charities Act, which was passed in April 2005. Broadly, these are:

to register and monitor charitable entities in New Zealand; and
to provide education and support to the charitable sector.

In future, the Charities Commission will:

promote public confidence in the charitable sector;
encourage good practice in the governance and management of charitable organisations;
provide advice on matters relating to charities to government; and
promote or undertake research into matters relating to charities.

The Charities Register

The Charities Register opened to accept applications for registration from charitable organisations on 1 February 2007. Charities wishing to remain eligible for tax exemptions on the grounds of charitable purpose should register before 1 July 2008.

Registration is voluntary and has no bearing on the legal status of an organisation.

Once there are a good number of charities registered, the public will be able to search the Register online at www.charities.govt.nz for information about the nature, activities and purposes of registered charities in New Zealand. Basic financial information on each registered charity will also be available.

If a charity is on the Register, you can be sure that that it has proven to the Charities Commission that it has a charitable purpose.

In the public interest

The Charities Register will help New Zealanders to make well-informed decisions about the charities they wish to support.

Charities registered under the Charities Act receive a unique registration number, which indicates to the public that the charity has met the requirements of registration. Members of the public will be entitled to ask fundraisers for this number in situations where there is any doubt about a charity’s legitimacy.

Enforcement

The Charities Commission has the authority to impose penalties, undertake formal investigations or deregister charities that are not fulfilling their described charitable purpose or have seriously failed to comply with the Act.

Key people

Chief Executive
Trevor Garrett

Chair of Board
Sid Ashton

Minister, Community and Voluntary Sector
Hon. Ruth Dyson