If your charity is registered with Charities Services, you must tell us when certain details change. This is a legal requirement under the Charities Act 2005 (the Act).

Keeping your details up to date helps:

• your charity stay compliant with the Act
• the public trust the information on the Charities Register
• us contact your charity when needed.

Changes you need to tell us about

You must notify us if any of the following details change:

• the name of your charity
• your legal entity type
• the address for service
• your contact details, including primary and alternative contacts
• your officers, including if an officer becomes disqualified
• the balance date
• your rules
• the purposes of your charity.

When you need to tell us

You must notify us about any changes no later than three months after:

• the change happens, or
• your charity becomes aware of the change.

If changes are approved at your annual general meeting (AGM), you can report them when you file your annual return. This is only allowed if we receive the update within three months of the change.

Example

If your AGM is held in February and new officers are appointed, you must update us by May at the latest.

How to update your charity’s details

The easiest and fastest way to update your details is online:

• log in to your charity’s account
• complete the Update Details form.

After you submit an update, we will check whether the changes affect your charity’s registration status.

Information about specific types of changes

Changing your charity’s name

If your charity is registered with the Companies Office, you must first have the name change approved there. This applies if your charity is an incorporated society, charitable trust or company.

Once the Companies Office has approved the new name, you must then notify Charities Services.

Changing the address for service

You must tell us if your address for service changes.

An address for service is the official address where your charity can be contacted for legal or formal matters. It does not have to be the same as your physical location.

Changing your contact details

You must tell us if any of your contact details change.

Contact details include your primary and alternative contact persons’ names, email addresses, and phone numbers. The primary contact is the person we will contact if we have questions about your charity. These details are not shown on the public register.

Keeping your contact details up to date ensures we can send you important information, including reminders and updates about your registration.

Changing your officers

You must notify us whenever there is a change to your charity’s officers.

This includes when:

• an officer is appointed
• an officer resigns or is removed
• a change means an officer becomes disqualified under the Act

You can add or remove officers online using the Update Details form.

Personal information about officers

The Update Details form asks for each officer’s:

• full name
• date of birth
• residential address

We collect this information so we can accurately identify officers when needed. This is allowed under the Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 2020.

An officer’s date of birth and residential address are not shown on the public register. Charities Services and other agencies will only use this information where authorised by law.

Our privacy statements explain:

• what information we collect
• how we use it
• who can access it
• what happens if the information is not provided

If you do not provide the required information, your charity may be in breach of its legal obligation to notify us of officer changes using the prescribed form.

Significant or ongoing non-compliance with the Charities Act 2005 may result in deregistration.

Changing your balance date

A balance date is the date your financial year ends.

If you want to change your balance date and:

• there will be more than 15 months between balance dates, or
• your charity will not have a balance date in each calendar year

we recommend that you seek our approval before making the change. You can also make the change first and then notify us.

Example

If your charity wants to move from a 31 March balance date to 31 December, there may be a longer-than-usual financial period. In this situation, it is best to contact us before making the change.

Changing your rules

If your rules change, you must provide us with a copy of the amended rules.

If your charity is incorporated under the:

• Charitable Trusts Act 1957
• Incorporated Societies Act 2022
• Companies Act 1993

The rules you send us must match the rules approved by the Companies Office. Make sure the Companies Office has approved the latest version before you send it to us.

Changing your purposes

If you change your charity’s purposes, the new purposes must be charitable under section 5(1) of the Charities Act 2005.  

Charitable purposes include:

• Relieving poverty
• Advancing education
• Advancing religion
• Other purposes beneficial to the community

You must then follow the same process described under 'changing your rules'.

See our pages on charitable purpose and rules for more information.

Changing your legal entity type

If you want to change your charity’s legal structure, for example from an incorporated society to a charitable trust, you must:

• provide us with your new rules
• update any other details that have changed.

You can keep your existing charity registration number.

You should also:

• contact Inland Revenue to discuss any tax implications
• update your details with New Zealand Companies Office if your charity is incorporated.

Transferring assets

If you want to transfer your charity’s assets to an existing entity that is not registered with Charities Services, you cannot use the Update Details form. This is because the existing entity may not meet the registration requirements. That entity will need to apply for registration separately.

We recommend that charities seek independent legal advice before changing legal structure or transferring assets.