About the organisation
An organisation applied for charity registration with the subtype of advancing religion.
In its application, the organisation shared that it advanced the Catholic faith by spreading the teaching, beliefs and traditions of the Catholic Church.
The organisation included information about the individuals based overseas who it would provide funds to so they could undertake their missionary work.
About the application
Because the organisation had applied for registration with the subtype of advancing religion, the ACNC also considered if the organisation met the definition of a Basic Religious Charity.
If a charity meets the definition of a Basic Religious Charity, it does not have to:
- answer financial information questions in its Annual Information Statement
- submit annual financial reports
- comply with the ACNC Governance Standards.
If they wish, Basic Religious Charities can voluntarily provide more transparency and accountability to the community.
Basic Religious Charities must still meet all other ongoing obligations, including the requirement to:
- submit their Annual Information Statement each year
- comply with the External Conduct Standards (if operating or sending money overseas)
- notify the ACNC of changes to certain details.
About the registration process
In its initial application, the organisation provided thorough information about its work and detailed the steps it would take to operate responsibly.
While the organisation was not required to meet Governance Standards because it was a Basic Religious Charity, it still has governance obligations under the External Conduct Standards because it operates overseas.
It also shared the financial management controls and governance it had in place. These included:
- requiring individuals the organisation transferred funds to overseas to provide financial reports confirming funds were used for purposes in line with its missionary work.
- ensuring all bank accounts had to be verified prior to issuing any funds, and that any changes to bank accounts needed to be verified by the organisation before further funds were issued.
In the application, the organisation detailed several measures it had in place to manage conflicts of interest, and to ensure its Responsible People met expectations. These included clearly articulated rules, procedures and record-keeping practices.
The organisation also provided a conflict of interest policy that applied to its Responsible People, employees and volunteers both in Australia and overseas, and which made clear the processes in place to identify, document and manage perceived or actual conflicts of interest.
The ACNC considered these to be reasonable steps to address the risks of corruption, fraud or financial impropriety, as required by External Conduct Standard 3.
Outcome
The ACNC was satisfied that the organisation had a charitable purpose and had adequate measures in place to comply with the External Conduct Standards.
The ACNC registered the charity with the charity subtype of ‘advancing religion’.