A Basic Religious Charity must be registered with the charitable subtype of 'advancing religion'. However, if your charity is registered, or could be registered, with an additional charitable subtype, it is not a Basic Religious Charity.
The ACNC Act sets out 14 categories or 'subtypes' of charity that the ACNC can register. These are based on its charitable purpose. Your charitable purpose is the reason your charity was set up, or what your activities work towards achieving. Charity subtypes include:
- advancing religion
- advancing education, and
- advancing social and public welfare.
A religious charity's activities may seem to fit another charitable purpose. However, if those activities are only done to further the purpose of advancing religion, the charity may still be eligible to be a Basic Religious Charity.
For example, religious education as part of promoting religious principles in a religious community is not likely to be a separate charitable purpose (advancing education), compared with setting up a separate school, which is likely to be a separate charitable purpose.