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This page outlines how you may access information held by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

The ACNC Charity Register contains information about Australia's registered charities.

Each listing on the Charity Register shows details about a charity, its programs, its finances and the names of the people involved in its operation. It also contains details of formal warnings or directions the ACNC has issued to a charity and enforceable undertakings the ACNC has accepted from a charity.

You can access copies of a charity’s governing document and (where available) financial report via the Charity Register.

The Charity Portal is how Responsible or Authorised People for a registered charity may submit enquiries or documents to the ACNC.

If you are a Responsible Person for a charity, you may have access to your previous submissions through the Charity Portal.

You can request a copy of personal information which the ACNC holds about you without the need for a special request.

You may also ask for the information which the ACNC holds about you to be changed if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading.

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests

If you are unable to access the documents you seek through the above methods, you may submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).

An FOI request can take up to 30 days to process.

What documents can I request?

Under the FOI Act you have the right to access documents held by the ACNC, except where the documents are exempt from disclosure.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth) (ACNC Act) permits the ACNC to collect documents necessary for it to undertake its function to regulate registered charities. The ACNC does not hold all documents which a charity might create in the course of pursuing its purposes.

Division 150 of the ACNC Act sets out secrecy provisions which may limit the information we can provide in response to an FOI request. If your request relates to ‘protected ACNC information’ we may require proof of identity from you before we can disclose documents and we may not be able to disclose certain documents to you.

Protected ACNC information is information that:

  • was disclosed or obtained under, or for the purposes of, the ACNC Act
  • relates to the affairs of an entity, and
  • identifies the entity, or is reasonably capable of being used to identify the entity.

Examples of protected ACNC information include:

  • concerns raised about registered and formerly registered charities
  • forms submitted to the ACNC by a charity or applicant for registration
  • correspondence between a charity or entity and the ACNC.

The operation of Division 150 means we can usually only disclose the information the ACNC holds about a specific registered charity to that charity’s Responsible or Authorised People.

How do I make a request?

To make an FOI request, you must:

  1. send your request by email to foi@acnc.gov.au or by post to:

Freedom of Information Contact Officer
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
GPO Box 5108
Melbourne, VIC 3001

  1. state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
  2. provide sufficient information about the document(s) you are requesting to help us to process your request (i.e. a case reference number, time period relating to the documents you seek), and
  3. provide a return address for us to provide you with a response.

If you require assistance with your request, please email foi@acnc.gov.au.

How much does it cost?

There is no application fee for making an FOI request.

However, processing charges may apply to where you are requesting access to documents that do not contain your own personal information.

Charges are determined based on the size of your request and time taken for us to process it. You will be notified in writing should charges apply to your request.

What happens once my application has been received?

Once you submit your request, we must:

  • acknowledge your request within 14 days
  • give you an estimate of the charges that apply (where applicable)
  • provide you with our decision within 30 days, unless that time has been extended.

If a document contains information about a third party, we will need to consult them in processing your request. This means we may need more time to provide you with our decision.

We may also seek your agreement to extend the time by up to 30 days where your request is complex.