Registered Charities
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The Honourable Dr Michael Cullen officially declared the Charities Register open during a colourful launch at Parliament Buildings on Thursday 1 February. This event marked the start of the registration of charitable organisations under the Charities Act 2005.
Read Dr Cullen's launch speech on Scoop
From left: Sid Ashton, Minister Laban and Dr Cullen cut the cake to formalise the opening of the Charities Register.
The following extract is from the launch speech of the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, the Honourable Luamanuvao Winnie Laban:
"I welcome this new era in which the charitable sector can earn even more trust, confidence and acknowledgement from the public.
"The customary Samoan greeting of "Talofa lava" is particularly appropriate today. The word "Talofa" derives from the word "alofa" which has different forms in many Polynesian languages. In New Zealand Māori it is "aroha". In the Cook Islands "aro'a", and in Hawaii - "aloha", and in Tongan, "ofa".
"This word was used by those who translated the Bible into different Polynesian languages as the word for "charity", and "love".
"Not all concepts travel well across cultures. Yet here is evidence that the concept of "charity" – "a loving gift" - is understood and valued by people from very diverse backgrounds.
"The charitable sector in New Zealand is also very diverse. We have over 23,000 incorporated societies, 10,000 charitable trusts and thousands more unregistered organisations. The registration of charities and the Commission's monitoring of charities will increase the accountability and the transparency of their charitable activities. It will also strengthen the public's trust in the charitable sector as a whole."
Chair of the Charities Commission Board, Sid Ashton, spoke of the Commission's commitment to working with the charitable sector:
"The Charities Commission Board has a vision: one of a strong charitable sector for New Zealand, which enjoys a high level of public trust and confidence. I am pleased to say that over the past 20 months we have established a solid foundation for making this vision a reality.
It has been a key focus for both the Board and staff to meet and work with the charitable sector. The Commission is committed to further developing these relationships. We will continue to communicate with charitable organisations to raise awareness of the Charities Act, provide guidance on registration and seek feedback on key policies concerning the Charities Register. Ultimately, we will offer education and support on good governance and management.
We are excited about the challenges ahead, while being aware of the degree of change involved for the charitable sector. The Charities Register has relevance for every socially responsible New Zealander. Looking at the high degree of commitment, capability and professionalism of the Commission and its staff, I am confident of our ability to make a significant contribution to the sound future of the charitable sector."
Now that the Charities Register is open, your charitable organisation can apply to the Charities Commission for registration. Within the first two weeks of registration, the Commission has received over 100 applications and 11 charities have already been registered.
If you choose to apply to register an individual organisation online, simply visit our website www.charities.govt.nz, go to the Charities Register page and follow the step-by-step instructions. Online help notes will assist you, and you can log on and off if you want to complete your application in stages before sending it to us. You can upload electronic versions of supporting documents, such as your rules, as part of the online registration process, or post them to us at the address provided.
If you wish to register an individual organisation and prefer to apply by post, you will need a copy of Form 1: Application by entity for registration as a charitable entity and Form 2: Officer Certification Form (one copy for each of your officers). Either print the forms from our website www.charities.govt.nz or call our free information line 0508 242 748 to request copies by post. Photocopies are acceptable.
Applications for group registration must be sent to the Commission by post.
Regardless of which option you choose, we suggest you first read the material in one of our registration information packs – details below.
If you are considering an application to register an individual organisation with us, these packs help to explain:
Registration information packs also contain the relevant registration forms, should you choose to apply by post.
Download your registration information pack at www.charities.govt.nz (follow the link from our homepage) or call our free information line 0508 242 748 to request a copy by post.
The information in this pack will help you decide whether group registration is the right option for your organisation. It also contains the forms you will need to prepare a submission (the first step in the group registration process) and certify your officers.
Download your group registration information pack at www.charities.govt.nz (follow the link from our homepage) or call our free information line 0508 242 748 to request a copy by post.
If a registration information pack isn't your cup of tea, you can access the key registration forms on our website www.charities.govt.nz (follow the quicklink from our homepage). Or simply call our free information line 0508 242 748 with your postal address and we'll send them out to you.
On 9 February 2007, we registered the first charity under the new Charities Act -Te Aute Koiri Foundation Incorporated.
The Hastings-based charity supports the special character of Te Aute College in Hawkes Bay, where, among other Māori leaders, Sir Apirana Ngata studied on his way to become the first Māori to graduate with a University degree.
Te Awamutu Safer Community Charitable Trust was second off the blocks, registered on the same day.
Congratulations to both organisations for contributing to a small, but significant slice of New Zealand history.
It is not yet possible to conduct searches on registered charities at www.charities.govt.nz. This functionality will be available later this year, once there are a good number of charities registered.
In the meantime, we have provided a list of charities registered under the Charities Act on http://www.register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/Search.aspx. This list will be updated weekly until we have reached a critical mass and the search function becomes available.
We are seeking your views on our proposed approach to the registration of overseas charities and New Zealand charities carrying out activities overseas.
The consultation paper is on our website. Comments are welcome by 16 March 2007.
Chief Executive of the Charities Commission Trevor Garrett and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue David Butler sign the Memorandum of Understanding.
On 16 January, Chief Executive of the Charities Commission Trevor Garrett and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue David Butler signed two Memoranda of Understanding. These documents set out:
Update newsletter: Launch edition - January / February 2007
The information on this webpage is available in PDF format for you to view, download, or print.