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What you can do if you disagree with our decisions
Updated February 2010
If you disagree with a decision we have made about your charity there are steps you can take to challenge that decision.
Background
In the course of its work Charities Services makes a range of decisions. These include decisions to register or deregister charities, to publish or restrict details about charities on the public Register, to backdate the effective date of registration of charities, or to grant exemptions from compliance with the Charities Act 2005.
When we make decisions, we take a lot of trouble to ensure we get them right and that each decision is a proper exercise of our powers and consistent with our statutory objectives.
We recognise, however, that from time to time people may not agree with the decisions we have made. If you disagree with a decision we have made about your charity there are steps you can take to challenge that decision.
Contact us first
We suggest that the first step you should take is to contact us. This is because in some cases we may be able to help you resolve the situation – for example, we may be able to suggest an alternative way to achieve the end result that you are seeking.
Your option to lodge an appeal
If you are unhappy with a decision we have made about your charity and we cannot resolve the situation together, you have the option to lodge an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court. You must do this within 20 working days of the date of our letter advising you about the decision.
What will happen if your application for registration is declined?
If, after discussions with you, we decide to decline your organisation's application for registration we will:
- write to you to formally advise you of our decision
- tell you the reasons for our decision
- inform you that you have the option to lodge an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court within 20 working days of the date of our letter.
Helpful tip – you should contact Inland Revenue to clarify your organisation's liability for income tax.
What will happen if your request to restrict information on the public Register is declined?
If, after discussions with you, we decide to decline your request to restrict information from the public we will:
- write to you to formally advise you of our decision
- tell you the reasons for our decision.
We will also inform you that you have the option of either:
- asking us to remove your charity from the Register or
- lodging an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court within 20 working days of the date of our letter.
We will not show your information on the Register until the time for filing an appeal has passed. See our information sheets Restricting public access to your information on the Charities Register and Deregistration – removing charities from the Charities Register
What will happen if we decide to remove your charity from the Register?
If, after discussions with you, we decide to deregister your charity we will:
- write to you to formally advise you of our decision
- tell you the reasons for our decision
- inform you that you have the option to lodge an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court within 20 working days of the date of our letter.
We will not deregister a charity until the time for filing an appeal has passed. See our information sheet Deregistration – removing charities from the Charities Register
Helpful tip – you should contact Inland Revenue to clarify your organisation's liability for income tax.
