The ACNC has expanded its library of charity registration summaries, featuring new cases that outline how the ACNC makes registration decisions for organisations working across international borders — including those operating in high-risk environments, undertaking missionary work, and delivering programs to vulnerable communities.
Each summary is drawn from a real charity registration application the ACNC has previously assessed. All examples have been de-identified to protect applicant privacy.
The summaries outline the questions the ACNC asks applicants, the information we seek from them, and how we communicate with them throughout the process.
The summaries also showcase how we determine if an applicant will comply with the ACNC’s External Conduct Standards, which govern how a registered charity must manage its activities and resources outside Australia.
These standards include requirements for managing funds and resources to be used overseas, protecting a charity from fraud and corruption, protecting vulnerable people who may be at risk, and reviewing activities and record keeping.
The new summaries explore a range of other issues that arise during the application process, including organisations:
- operating in high risk or unstable regions
- operating as Basic Religious Charities and conducting overseas missionary work
- demonstrating that their overseas activities are genuine, planned and properly controlled.
Other summaries explore matters such as incidental or ancillary purposes, necessitous circumstances, conflicts of interest, private benefit, and working in partnership with other organisations.
More summaries and additional resources to support charities that operate internationally will be published on the ACNC website in the coming months.