All charities - except ones that are registered with Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) - must submit an Annual Information Statement.

The Annual Information Statement requires charities to provide information about their finances.

In addition, medium and large charities - those with total annual revenue of $250,000 or more - must submit an annual financial report as part of their Annual Information Statement.

For small charities, submitting an annual financial report is optional, but we encourage them to do so. And if a small charity's own governing document requires it to submit financial statements, it must do so.

Charities that are a members of an approved reporting group are not required to submit individual Annual Information Statements. Instead, they their Annual Information Statement is submitted via Group Reporting as part of a larger group.

What is an annual financial report?

An annual financial report provides the public with extra information and an additional level of assurance about a charity's operations and financial affairs throughout a reporting period.

Providing an annual financial report helps registered charities meet their legislative requirements as set out in the ACNC Act, and is also an indication of good governance.

Unless your charity is taking part in transitional reporting arrangements, financial statements must be prepared as required by the ACNC Act and ACNC Regulations and in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards set by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).

Large charities must have their annual financial report audited. Medium charities can have their annual financial report either audited or reviewed.

As a minimum, medium and large charities must provide the ACNC with the following information when submitting their annual financial report:

  • a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income
  • a statement of financial position
  • a statement of changes in equity
  • a statement of cash flows
  • notes to the financial statements
  • a signed and dated Responsible Persons’ declaration about the statements and notes (we have a template declaration available)
  • for medium charities, a signed and dated reviewer's report or auditor's report; for large charities, a signed and dated auditor's report (we have templates for reviewer's and auditor's reports).

A charity's financial statements must be either General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS) or Special Purpose Financial Statements (SPFS). The type of financial statements a charity must prepare depends on on whether it is classed as a reporting entity or not.

Read more about General Purpose Financial Statements, Special Purpose Financial Statements and reporting entities.

alert icon There are requirements for auditors when considering the financial reporting framework adopted by a charity, and those responsibilities span different stages of the audit process.

Read more about auditing requirements.

Our annual financial report checklist covers key issues for you to consider, and includes helpful hints for preparing your charity’s annual financial report.

Medium and large-sized charities must include an annual financial report when submitting their Annual Information Statement. For small charities, providing an annual financial report is optional but encouraged.

Your charity’s financial report needs to meet ACNC requirements, except in cases where the ACNC accepts the financial reports that a charity submits to another regulator as part of the ACNC's transitional reporting arrangements.

Your charity’s financial statements and notes must comply with Australian Accounting Standards set by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and give a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of the registered entity.

We have included references to the specific accounting standards in the checklist where relevant.

alert icon Note that this checklist does not cover every possible scenario and some requirements may not apply depending on the type of financial report and a charity’s individual circumstances.

Annual financial report checklist

Does your charity's financial report include a complete set of financial statements?

  • statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income
  • statement of financial position
  • statement of changes in equity
  • statement of cash flows

AASB reference: AASB 101.10.

Does your charity's financial report include notes required by all relevant Australian Accounting Standards to explain the financial statements?

Charities that are not reporting entities and prepare Special Purpose Financial Statements must ensure they include any disclosures required by the following standards:

  • AASB 101, Presentation of Financial Statements
  • AASB 107, Statement of Cash Flows
  • AASB 108, Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors
  • AASB 1048, Interpretation of Standards
  • AASB 1054, Australian Additional Disclosures.

AASB reference: AASB 101.10.

Does your charity's financial report include comparative figures for the current and previous reporting periods?

AASB reference: AASB 101.38.

Does your charity's financial report have appropriate line items presented in the statements of profit or loss and financial position (including consistent presentation of classes of material items)?

AASB reference: AASB 101.82, AASB 101.82A.

Does your charity's financial report disclose the charity's significant accounting policies?

AASB reference: AASB 101.117.

Does your charity's financial report have appropriate disclosures about accounting estimates, judgements and errors?

AASB reference: AASB 101.122, AASB 101.125, AASB 108.

Has the cash flow statement been classified between operating, investing and financing activities?

AASB reference: AASB 107.10

Does your charity's financial report have the required additional disclosure notes?

Your charity's financial report should have disclosure notes regarding:

  • compliance with all relevant Australian Accounting Standards (reporting entities only)
  • the legislative reporting framework that underpins the financial statement preparation (for example, the ACNC Act)
  • not-for-profit entity statement
  • disclosure of audit/review fees (optional for RDR)

AASB reference: AASB 1054.

​​​​​ Does your charity's financial report disclose the depreciation method and other required information for each class of property, plant and equipment?

This is optional for charities that are not reporting entities.

AASB reference: AASB 116.

Has your charity assessed whether there is any indication that certain assets may be impaired at the end of the reporting period?

This is optional for charities that are not reporting entities.

AASB reference: AASB 136.

Does your charity's financial report include disclosure notes about key management personnel compensation and the nature of all related party transactions?

This is optional for charities that are not reporting entities.

AASB reference: AASB 124.17, AASB 124.18

Does your charity's financial report include a signed and dated Responsible Persons declaration?

Does your charity's financial report include an auditor’s report (or reviewer’s report for medium charities) signed by an appropriate auditor or reviewer?

Does the auditor’s or reviewer’s report state the financial report meets the requirements of the ACNC Act?

Download the annual financial report checklist (PDF, 153.85 KB)