Can animal welfare groups register with the ACNC?
The ACNC registers organisations as charities. Animal welfare groups that meet the legal meaning of charity and our requirements for registration can register as charities with the ACNC.
When applying to register, animal welfare groups may wish to select 'preventing or relieving the suffering of animals' as their charitable purpose and 'protecting animals' as one of their charitable activities. Animal welfare groups may also select other recognised charitable purposes they have, or other charitable activities they engage in, such as scholarly research or environmental programs.
What obligations do registered charities have to the ACNC?
Animal welfare groups registered with the ACNC have ongoing obligations under the ACNC Act. These include to:
- notify us of certain changes
- keep records
- report to us each year
- comply with governance standards and external conduct standards, where applicable.
Unless we or another government agency tell you otherwise, animal welfare groups that have obligations to another government agency (such as notification or reporting) must continue to meet these obligations. The ACNC will be working with other government agencies to reduce unnecessary regulatory obligations over time. Find out more about this work and whether it affects your organisation by reading about charity obligations to other regulators.