This section of the Annual Information Statement is to ensure we have the basic information about your charity: its name, contact information and size.

Most of the questions in this section will be pre-filled for all charities completing their Annual Information Statement online through the Charity Portal.

1. Charity’s Australian Business Number (ABN)

This answer will be pre-filled.

2. Charity's name

This answer will be pre-filled.

3. Are there any other names your charity is known by?

For example, your charity's trading name, business name or any other name the public knows your charity by.

4(a). What address do you want the ACNC to send all correspondence to (your ‘Address For Service’)?

It is mandatory to provide an Address For Service (either an email, postal or street address). The address details will appear on the ACNC Register.

The ACNC will send correspondence to your Address For Service email. We will always attempt to contact your charity by email before trying other addresses.

If you are registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), provide a physical address. If your charity is not registered with ASIC, you can provide a postal address, such as a PO Box, instead.

4(b). Who do you want the ACNC to use as a primary contact person for your charity?

The contact person’s details will not appear on the ACNC Register. We will use the contact person’s details if we need to contact your charity, and to verify the contact person’s identity if they call to discuss charity information over the phone.

5. What are your charity’s details?

These are the details the public can use to contact your charity. The addresses you provide in this section will appear as your charity’s contact details on the ACNC Register. It is best to provide a generic charity email address rather than a personal address.

6. What is the size of your charity based on its annual revenue for the 2017 reporting period?

Your charity size is based on your annual revenue, not your annual income.

Annual revenue is what your charity earns in a year as a result of carrying out its ordinary activities, and is usually shown as one of the top line items in an income (profit and loss) statement.

• Small charities have an annual revenue of less than $250,000
• Medium charities have an annual revenue of $250,000 and $999,999
• Large charities have an annual revenue of $1 million or more

Please ensure you use the right figure when calculating your charity size so that your charity does not over-report or under-report when completing its AIS. More on charity size.

Calculate revenue using the relevant accounting standards issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board.

Basic Religious Charities Questions

7a – 7e are only for charities whose only registered subtype is ‘advancing religion’. These questions are to determine whether or not your charity is a ‘Basic Religious Charity’.

Basic Religious Charities are charities which have the purpose of ‘advancing religion’, and which meet the five other criteria.

Only a small number of charities that advance religion meet all five criteria. The ACNC reminds charities wishing to report as Basic Religious Charities to ensure they are eligible to do so.More information on Basic Religious Charities.

7(a). Could your charity be registered with a subtype other than ‘advancing religion’?

If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, continue to 7b.

If you answer ‘no’ to this question, skip to Section B.

This question asks whether your charity could be registered as another subtype, even if you are not currently registered under another subtype or you haven’t applied for another subtype. More information about charity subtypes.

7(b). Is your charity incorporated or registered under certain legislation?

Answer ‘yes’, if your charity is incorporated under any of the following legislation:

• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
• Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
• Companies Act 1985 (Norfolk Island)
• Associations Incorporation Acts of any States and Territories (and Norfolk Island)

If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, skip to Section B.

If you answer ‘no’ to this question, continue to 7c.

7(c). Has the ACNC allowed your charity to report as part of a group?

To report as part of a group for a particular reporting period, you need to have applied to the ACNC and have had that application approved.

If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, skip to Section B.

If you answer ‘no’ to this question, continue to 7d.

7(d). Is your charity (as a whole) endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR) or does it operate a DGR fund(s), authority(ies) or institution(s) that had total revenue of $250 000 or more in the reporting period?

More information about Deductible Gift Recipients.

If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, skip to Section B.

If you answer ‘no’ to this question, continue to 7e.

7(e). Has your charity received more than $100 000 in government grants in the current reporting period, or in either of the previous two reporting periods?

This includes grants from local, state and federal governments.

If you answered ‘yes’ to question 7 and ‘no’ to questions 7a through to 7e, your charity is a Basic Religious Charity. This means you are NOT required to complete ‘Section D: Finance’ in the AIS.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions between 7a and 7e, your charity is NOT a Basic Religious Charity. This means you are required to complete ALL sections of the AIS.

More information on Basic Religious Charities.

And if you are still not sure if you are a Basic Religious Charity, contact Advice Services on 13 ACNC (13 22 62).

8. Was your charity operating in the 2017 reporting period?

The purpose of this question is to identify inactive charities.

A charity is active and operating if it undertakes any activities or programs. Activities can be financial or non-financial. For example, developing a strategic plan, fundraising, employing staff and doing administrative work are all activities.

If you are unsure whether your charity was operating, select ‘yes’ – as it is highly likely your charity did conduct activities during the 2017 reporting period.

If you answer ‘no’ to this question, you will need to explain why your charity did not operate in the 2017 reporting period.

If your charity will not operate in the future, you will need to request for your charity's registration to be revoked by completing Form 5A: Application to revoke charity registration.

If you apply for voluntary revocation of your charity's registration with the ACNC and it is approved, the charity will no longer receive Commonwealth charity tax concessions or other registered charity benefits. Your charity will be shown as voluntarily revoked on the ACNC Register.

9. What were your charity’s main activities in the 2017 reporting period?

Your charity’s activities will be published on the public ACNC Register via the AIS. To better communicate to the public where your efforts are focussed, select only your main activities.

You may wish to look at your annual report to help you determine your charity’s main activities. If your charity conducted international activities, such as operating overseas programs or transferring funds or goods, you will also need to briefly describe those activities.

Alternatives to selecting ‘Other’

When completing their AIS forms in previous years, many charities listed activities under the ‘other’ category when they could have selected from the options provided. Please try to group your activities under the options provided rather than selecting ‘other’.

Below are some alternatives to listing your charity’s activities as ‘other’.

However, if any activities that your charity conducted are not listed on the AIS form, please select ‘other’ and use one word or phrase to describe them.

Examples of charity activities

Each category of charity activity is listed below. It is accompanied by examples of charity activities that could be listed under each category. These examples are not an exhaustive list, and are only included as a guide.

Culture and recreation

Culture and arts

Sports

Other recreation activity

Education and research

Primary and secondary education

Higher education

Other education

Research

Health

Hospital services and rehabilitation activities

Aged care activities

Mental health and crisis intervention

Other health service delivery

Social services

Emergency and relief

Income support and maintenance

Environment

Environmental activities

Animal protection

Development and housing

Economic, social and community development

Housing activities

Employment and training

Law and advocacy

Advocacy and civic activities

Law and legal services

Philanthropic intermediaries and voluntarism promotion

Grant-making activities

Other philanthropic intermediaries and voluntarism promotion

International

International activities

Religion

Religious activities

Other

10. Describe how your charity's activities and outcomes helped achieve your charity's purpose.

In completing this question, include information that will assist people such as your donors, volunteers and the people your charity helps to understand how your organisation uses its resources.

Information that can help your charity complete this question might be contained in its annual report, or on its website.

Beneficiaries

11. Who were your charity’s main beneficiaries in the 2017 reporting period?

Your charity’s main beneficiaries will be published on the ACNC Register. To better communicate where your charity’s efforts are directed, select only your main beneficiaries from the list contained in the 2017 AIS form.

Where possible, select your beneficiaries from the options provided rather than selecting ‘other’. If any main beneficiaries are not listed, select ‘other’ and briefly describe them using a single word or phrase.

If your charity has a large range of beneficiaries, or is focused on animals or the environment, we recommend you select ‘general community in Australia’.

Questions for charities whose main beneficiaries include people with a disability

In the 2017 reporting period, did your charity provide support and/or services funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

Select ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is an Australian government healthcare program for Australians with a disability.

You can find out more about the NDIS, including the requirements for participants, from www.ndis.gov.au.

In the next reporting period, does your charity intend to provide funded support and/or services to participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

Select ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’.

12. Where did your charity conduct activities during the 2017 reporting period?

Select all the locations that apply. Activities include programs and operations undertaken, fundraising, as well as providing funding or other support. Activities can also include online services.

13. Will your charity change or introduce any activities in the 2018 reporting period?

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

If you select ‘no’, continue to Section C.

Explain the types of activities your charity intends to change or introduce during the next reporting period that are different to the 2017 reporting period.

If your charity is planning to change activities or do anything differently, explain what your charity will change or the new activities your charity will introduce.

Limit your response to 1,000 characters.

14. How many paid employees worked for your charity during the last pay period of the 2017 reporting period?

You might find this information in your annual report, organisational chart or Pay As You Go (PAYG) forms.

The ACNC classifies:

• full-time employees as those who work 35 hours or more per week
• part-time employees as those who work less than 35 hours per week
• casual employees as those who work any number of hours but do not get paid personal or holiday leave
• volunteers as those who work any number of hours but do not get paid.

Enter the total number of paid employees, as well as the number of full-time, part-time and casual employees.

How many unpaid volunteers worked for your charity during the 2017 reporting period?

Volunteers willingly give unpaid help, including their time, services or skills, to your charity. This includes unpaid board and committee members. A volunteer may have only volunteered for 1 hour or have been a full-time volunteer for the whole reporting period. One volunteer may undertake multiple roles.

If you are unsure of the exact number, use your best estimate.

How many full-time equivalent staff (FTE) worked for your charity during the last pay period of the 2017 reporting period?

Full-time Equivalent (FTE) staff refers to the number of full-time employees that your charity would have if it combined the hours of full-time, part-time and casual employees.

Again, the ACNC classifies a full-time employee as a person working 35 hours or more in a week.

Other bodies use a different estimate for full-time work – for example, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website suggests a full-time employee works 38 hours. When calculating how many FTE your charity employs, use the number of hours which is accurate for your charity.

If you wish to manually work out how many FTE your charity employs, add up the total of all employee paid hours (including paid leave) for the relevant period and divide this figure by the number of hours normally worked by a full-time employee.

Example: You have four employees, two are full-time (with a work week of 35 hours) and two worked part-time (for 10 and 20 hours respectively) in the last pay period of the financial year.

Total paid hours for all employees in the pay period (weekly) is 35+35+10+20 = 100
FTE = 100/35 = 2.86

The questions in this section vary depending on the charity’s size, with additional information required from medium and large charities.

It is mandatory for all charities, except non-government schools and confirmed Basic Religious Charities, to answer the questions in this section. The definition of Basic Religious Charity is very specific, see your answers to question 7 if you are unsure whether your charity is a basic religious charity.

Basic Religious Charities and non-government schools

15. Does your charity want to provide financial information in the AIS?

It is optional for Basic Religious Charities to provide financial information.

If your charity is a non-government school and reports to the Department of Education and Training (the DET), and you answer ‘yes’, you will not be able to take advantage of the transitional arrangements with the DET. More information on non-government schools.

If you answer ‘no’, we will use the financial information your charity submits in the financial questionnaire to the DET as the financial information in the AIS.

The information in this section of the guide is tailored for small charities with annual revenue of less than $250 000. If your charity has annual revenue of more than $250 000, see the financial guidance for medium and large charities.

When completing their AIS, small charities:

• can submit a financial report, but it is optional
• can choose whether to use cash or accrual accounting, and
• do not need to have their financial reports reviewed or audited for ACNC purposes.

If your reporting period is not 01/07/2016 to 30/06/2017, provide your reporting date range:

For example 01/01/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) to 31/12/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy).

If your charity’s reporting end date is different to the ‘Financial Year end’ on the ACNC Register, you will need to log into the ACNC Charity Portal to fill out and submit a request for a different reporting period. This should be done prior to submitting your 2017 AIS.

15 (a) Did your charity use cash or accrual accounting in the 2017 reporting period?

Small charities may use cash accounting, when preparing their financial reports, if they are:

• not required to use accrual accounting under their governing documents (such as their rules, constitution or trust deed) or by any other government department or agency, or funding body
• an organisation with annual revenue below $250 000.

What is the difference between cash and accrual accounting?

The main difference between cash and accrual accounting is the timing of when revenue and expenses are recorded.

Cash accounting records revenue when the money is received and expenses when the money is paid out. Whereas, accrual accounting records revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred.

Cash accounting only records when money changes hands, either when it is received or paid. It does not record payables and receivables. Accrual accounting records all transactions in the reporting period, when income is earned or expenses are incurred. This includes recording payables and receivables.

For example, a charity is told it will receive a regular monthly donation of $50. Under the cash method, that amount is not recorded in the books until the donor hands the charity the money or the charity receives it in the bank account. Under the accrual method, the $50 is recorded as revenue immediately, even if the charity does not receive it right away.

The same thing occurs for expenses. If your charity pays $6000 in wages each month. Under the cash method, the amount is not added to the books until the charity pays the wages. Under the accrual method, the $6000 expense is recorded in advance for each month.

More information about cash and accrual accounting.

Income statement and balance sheet for small charities

When you complete your AIS online through the Charity Portal, some of the calculations for the financial questions will be done for you. Check that they match the amounts in your financial statement.

Tips to complete the income statement and balance sheet

Check you are using financial statements from the 2017 reporting period. Make sure you provide amounts for all of the items that make up the total.

• Use Australian dollars
• Round up or down to the nearest dollar – do not use cents
• Do not enter dollar signs, commas, or decimal points
• If the value is $0, enter 0.
• Include zeros to show thousands
• Check that the amounts you enter match the totals in your financial report, if you have one.

Example income statement and balance sheet for small charities

Income statement for small charities

For more information about the line items in the income statement, see the National Standard Chart of Accounts (NSCOA).

Revenue/receipts

a. Revenue from government, including grants

Include all types of funding and financial assistance provided by Commonwealth, state, territory or local governments in the 2017 reporting period. You may include amounts which under the accounting standards are classified as donations (refer to the relevant Australian accounting standards) even where there is no condition attached to the government grant.

Revenue from government includes:

• general purpose government grants or funding
• revenue received under a contract with government to provide specified services
• government procurement
• government rebates, supplements, subsidies or funded programs.

Do not include grants from non-government organisations or companies (these should be included in ‘revenue from providing goods or services’ or ‘donations and bequests’, depending on the type of grant).

Charities reporting under cash accounting should record the entire cash amount of the funding received, regardless of any conditions or amounts unspent.

Enter the total of all funding and financial assistance your charity received from the government in the reporting period.

If you received a one-off large amount of funding, grant or donation and the inclusion of those funds will place your charity temporarily into a higher size classification than it would usually be in, and your charity is likely to return to its normal size in future years, you can submit Form 4D: Apply to keep charity size before completing and submitting your AIS. More on keeping your charity size.

b. Donations and bequests

A donation is when a charity receives voluntary support (in cash or gifts in kind) and there is no material benefit to the donor. For example, it will not be a donation if the person giving money to the charity does so because they want entry to a special event, or wish to receive goods in return.

Donations and bequests include:

• donations from
• • public collections
  • fundraising
  • philanthropic trusts and corporations (including some types of grants from these bodies, see the “Classifying non-government grant revenue” box below for clarification)
  • members (but not membership fees)
  • supporters
  • employees
• bequests and memorials
• tax deductible donations and gifts from the public,
• tax deductible donations from members, supporters and employees
• non-tax deductible gifts and bequests.

Do not include fundraising income where there is a sale of an item – for example, do not include raffle tickets, tickets to a fundraising event, sale of merchandise like pens or badges or charity auctions. Fundraising income can be included under “(c) Revenue from provided goods and services”.

Classifying non-government grant revenue

In the AIS, revenue derived from grants can be classified under two sections:

• (b) Donations and bequests
• (c) Revenue from providing goods and services.

The majority of grants are provided on the basis that the recipient delivers on some obligations in return – for example, providing a specific service or program.

This type of grant is said to have dual purposes (a donation component and a performance obligation). If the donation component cannot be identified separately and measured reliably, the whole grant must be included under the “(c) revenue from providing goods and services” section of your AIS.

Any grant without a defined performance obligation – for example, a general purpose grant or a grant towards core operating costs – should be included under the “donations and bequests” section of your AIS.

For charities reporting under cash accounting, you should only record actual cash receipts in relation to donations and bequests. If you are reporting under accrual accounting arrangements, in-kind donation or support will be valued at the same value your charity would have had to pay to receive that donation or support.

Enter the total of all donations and bequests your charity received in the reporting period.

c. Revenue from providing goods and services

Include revenue from providing goods or services as part of your charity’s ordinary activities.

Revenue from providing goods and services includes:

• sales of raffle tickets
• selling goods and services, including donated items
• sales of chocolates, fundraising gala dinners and charity auctions
• sales of merchandise like pens or badges
• commercial activities such as running a café or opportunity shop
• fees and charges for services provided such as child care services, hospital fees, and licensing fees
• certain types of grants from non-government bodies like philanthropic trusts and corporations (refer to the “Classifying non-government grant revenue” box above for more information).
• rental income (if earned as part of your charity’s ordinary activities)
• running lotteries and gaming machines
• receiving royalties
• membership fees
• corporate sponsorship revenue – for example, when a business contributes financially towards the charity’s programs in exchange for recognition
• subscription fees.
• Do not include any revenue from government – this should be included under ‘revenue from government including grants’.
• Enter the total amount of revenue from providing goods or services in the reporting period.

d. Revenue from investments

Include interest, dividends and distributions from investments such as shares and units in managed funds.
Examples include revenue from:

• interest earned from bank accounts, including term deposits
• dividends and/or distributions from investment portfolios held by the charity
• dividends and/or distributions from units held in managed funds which may contain real estate.

Do not include:

• rental income – this should appear in ‘revenue from providing goods or services’, if earned as part of your charity’s ordinary activities, or in ‘other revenue’
• the increase in fair value of investments – this should be included in ‘other income’.

Enter the total amount of revenue from investments.

e. Other revenue/receipts

Examples of other revenue/receipts may include:

• non-government grants that do not include the provision of goods or services
• recoupments
• other revenue not already captured in the above categories.

Enter the total of all other revenue/receipts your charity received in the reporting period.

More information about revenue.

f. Total revenue/receipts (a + b + c + d + e)

Ensure your charity’s total revenue matches the size of your charity.

• Small: annual revenue less than $250,000
• Medium: annual revenue of $250,000 to $999,999
• Large: annual revenue of $1 million or more

This total is auto calculated from your charity’s revenue from government, donations and bequests, revenue from providing goods or services, revenue from investment, and other revenue/receipts

g. Other income (for example, gains) if applicable

Other income comes from transactions that are not part of your charity’s ordinary operations but affect your charity’s profit and loss.

Other income may include

• gains (only when they form part of the surplus/deficit for the year) such as sale of an asset of your charity such as sale of a motor vehicle, equipment, real estate, investments, assets that are not part of your charity’s inventory (stock or sale of goods)
• forgiveness of a liability or debt
• gains on foreign currency transactions

Do not include items already listed in a-e above, or other comprehensive income (OCI) movements, such as items outside the surplus/deficit for the year.

If your charity has other income to report, enter the amount here.

h. Total income/receipts (f + g)

This total is auto calculated from your total revenue/receipts and other income.

Expenses/payments

i. Employee expenses/payments

Employee expenses/payments include all salaries and wages paid (and payable if using accrual accounting) to all staff employed by your charity. This includes permanent, casual and temporary staff. It also includes leave expenses and superannuation.

Enter the amount of employee expenses/payment.

k. Grants and donations made for use in Australia

Grants and donations made by your charity for use in Australia, for example grant scholarships and grants to other charities, individuals or beneficiaries. Do not include grants and donations which are distributions made from equity/fund to beneficiaries. Where the trust distribution was made from equity/reserves of the charity, this is a movement in equity and not be reflected as an expenses in the income statement of the AIS.

l. Grants and donations made for use outside Australia

Grants and donations made by your charity for use outside Australia may include:

• sponsorship programs or projects that your charity manages
• money, goods or services your charity has donated to sister organisations or main governing body overseas
• indirectly sending money overseas, via another Australian organisation or charity.

If your charity has made a grant or donation for use outside Australia, list the country where the grant or donation was made in question 10.

Do not include grants and donations which are distributions made from equity/fund to beneficiaries. Where the trust distribution was made from equity/reserves of the charity, this is a movement in equity and not be reflected as an expenses in the income statement of the AIS.

m. Other expenses/payments

Other expenses/payments are those not already listed. These may include:

• administration costs
• agency contractor staff
• amortisation expense (loss due to the depreciation of a non-tangible asset – for example: intellectual property such as patents, trademarks or copyrights)
• auspicing/partnership fees
• bad debts
• bank charges
• board/governance expenses, including governance activities such as travel and accommodation for meetings
• cleaning
• consultancy fees
• cost of goods sold
• costs directly associated with grant funds
• credit card fees
• depreciation
• entertainment costs
• equipment hire/lease
• printing and stationery
• rental expenses
• repairs and maintenance.

n. Total expenses/payments (i + k + l + m)

This amount is auto calculated from your answers to i, k, l and m.

o. Net surplus/deficit (h - n)

This amount is auto calculated by subtracting your total expenses/payments (n) from your total income/receipts (h).

Balance sheet

v. Total assets

Assets provide future benefits to a charity and include anything of commercial value that is controlled by your charity at the end of the reporting period. Some categories may only be relevant for charities using accrual accounting. This may include:

• accounts receivable, less provision for doubtful debts
• accrued income
• cash float
• cash in the bank (restricted and unrestricted)
• cash on hand
• equipment, machinery, furniture
• GST owed from the government
• inventory on hand – such as stock held by your charity or as food or clothing held for distribution
• investments such as shares
• land and buildings
• motor vehicles
• other financial assets
• prepayments.

Assets should be recorded net of depreciation. This means the value recorded indicates the original value less any depreciation. If your charity has an asset register, you can refer to the total value of assets at the end of the reporting period.

Where appropriate, you can record the assets’ value at either the purchase price paid or the value provided by your insurance provider. You may need to refer to the accounting standards in order to arrive at an appropriate value of assets held.

aa. Total liabilities

Liabilities are the future sacrifices of economic benefits to the charity – generally what it owes. It includes anything of identifiable value that is owed by your charity at the end of the reporting period.
Liabilities may include:

• ABN withholding tax payable
• bank loans or mortgages
• overdrafts like a bank overdraft
• accounts payable
• grants/revenue received in advance
• employee entitlements (benefits/provisions)
• PAYG withholding payable
• superannuation payable
• salary sacrifice
• hire purchase liability
• lease liability
• revenue and grants received in advance
• GST owed to the government.

If your charity reports under cash accounting it may exclude some items that would be included in accrual accounting such as changes in value of assets, accounts receivable or payable.

However, you should still provide details of any assets and liabilities that you have recorded for your charity.

Even if you use cash accounting, it is good practice to maintain records of your charity’s assets and liabilities.

Where valuations are used to determine the value of assets and liabilities, make sure they are accurate and keep evidence to show how the value was determined.

ab. Net assets/liabilities (v – aa)

This amount is auto calculated by subtracting your charity’s liabilities (aa) from its net assets (v) and enter the amount here.

Financial report – small charities

It is optional for small charities to submit a financial report. If you choose to submit a financial report, it will generally include:

• financial statements for the reporting period
• notes to the financial statements
• responsible persons’ declaration about the statements and notes and
• reviewer’s report/auditor’s report.

If your charity already prepares a financial report (for example, to acquit grants you have received), we encourage you to upload the report as a way of increasing your charity’s transparency on the ACNC Register.

If you were required to have your charity’s accounts audited or reviewed (other than by the ACNC), we encourage you to upload the audit or review report as well.

Reporting to other regulators

Your charity may have already prepared a financial report to report to a state/territory regulator if it is an incorporated association, a cooperative or a charitable fundraising organisation. We encourage you to upload those financial reports, indicate what type of organisation your charity is and indicate the state or territory in which the other regulator is located.

Non-standard reporting periods

If you are uploading your charity’s financial report and it is not 01/07/2016 to 30/06/2017, provide the date range that your financial report covers - for example 01/01/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) to 31/12/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy).

If your charity’s reporting end date is different to the ‘Financial Year end’ on the ACNC Register, you will need to log into the ACNC Charity Portal to fill out and submit a request for a different reporting period. This should be done prior to submitting your 2017 AIS.

Note: The information in this section of the guide is tailored for medium and large charities. Medium charities have an annual revenue of between $250 000 and $999 999, and large charities have annual revenue of $1 million or more.

If your charity has annual revenue of less than $250 000, refer to the 2017 AIS Guide's section covering financial questions for small charities.

15. If your reporting period is not 01/07/2016 to 30/06/2017, provide your reporting date range:

For example 01/01/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) to 31/12/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy).

If your charity’s reporting end date is different to the ‘Financial Year end’ on the ACNC Register, you will need to log into the ACNC Charity Portal to fill out and submit a request for a different reporting period. This should be done prior to submitting your 2017 AIS.

15 (a) What type of financial report does your charity prepare?

Medium and large charities can respond by choosing one of three options:

• Special purpose financial statements
• General purpose financial statements
• General purpose financial statements – Reduced Disclosure Regime (RDR).

To decide which type of financial statement your charity needs to prepare under the Australian Accounting Standards, you must work out whether it is a ‘reporting entity’.

The Standards define a ‘reporting entity’ as:

‘an entity in respect of which it is reasonable to expect the existence of users who rely on the entity’s general purpose financial statements for information that will be useful to them for making and evaluating decisions about the allocation of resources. A reporting entity can be a single entity or a group comprising a parent and all of its subsidiaries’.

If people use and rely on your charity's financial statements to help them make decisions (for example, about how to spend money) then your charity is most likely a reporting entity.

Ultimately, whether your charity is a reporting entity or not will depend on a number of factors. Our guidance can help, while your reviewer or auditor may also assist in deciding whether your charity is a reporting entity.

If your charity is a reporting entity, it must submit to the ACNC a general purpose financial statement that complies with all applicable Australian Accounting Standards. The standards are issued by the Australian

Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and provide ways of accounting for and presenting the financial information of your charity.

Your charity can choose whether to report under a Reduced Disclosure Regime (RDR), which allows significantly less disclosure in the notes to the financial statements.

Note: Special purpose financial statements must apply the following six accounting standards, as a minimum:

• AASB 101, Presentation of Financial Statements
• AASB 107, Statement of Cash Flows
• AASB 108, Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors
• AASB 1031, Materiality
• AASB 1048, Interpretation of Standards
• AASB 1054, Australian Additional Disclosures.

If your charity is not a reporting entity, and is not required to prepare a general purpose financial statement, your charity may prepare special purpose financial statements.

15(b) Have you provided a consolidated financial report for multiple entities? (Is this financial report for more than one ABN?)

A consolidated group could include registered charities, non registered not-for-profits and private businesses, each one having different ABNs.

If the registered charity is a reporting entity and the parent charity of the consolidated group, they need to prepare consolidated financial statements in order to comply with Australian Accounting Standards.

Consolidated financial statements are financial statements of a group in which the assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows of the parent charity and its subsidiaries are presented as a single economic entity.

Once your charity is clear on this, select either 'yes' or 'no' to answer.

Australian Accounting Standard AASB 10: Consolidated Financial Statements provides guidance on whether an entity is controlled by another and is subject to preparing a consolidated financial report. AASB 10 also establishes the principles for the presentation and preparation of consolidated financial statements when an entity controls one or more other entities.

15(c)(i) Does the audit/review report, provided with the annual financial statements, include modified opinion/conclusion?

The auditor’s opinion or the reviewer’s conclusion on the annual financial statements will either be unqualified or modified.

An unqualified or unmodified auditor’s opinion/conclusion effectively states the auditor believes the annual financial statements present a true and fair view, and are in accordance with accounting standards and relevant legislation.

Modified auditor’s opinions/conclusions are issued when the auditor believes the annual financial statements contain a material misstatement, or when the auditor is unable to obtain enough evidence to form an opinion/conclusion.

If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, you will need to respond to Question 15 ( c ) (ii) below.

15(c) (ii) What is the type of modified opinion/conclusion?

The three types of modified auditor opinions/conclusions are:

• A qualified opinion/conclusion – when the auditor concludes that misstatements in the financial report are material, but not pervasive to the financial report; or the auditor is unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence on which to base the opinion, but concludes that the possible effects of undetected misstatements in the financial report could be material but not pervasive.
• An adverse opinion/conclusion – when the auditor concludes that misstatements are both material and pervasive to the financial report.
• A disclaimer of opinion – when the auditor is unable to obtain sufficient evidence on which to base an opinion, and the auditor concludes that the possible effects on the financial report of undetected misstatements could be material and pervasive.

15 d (i) Did your charity have any related party transactions?

The 2017 AIS will ask medium and large charities whether they have completed any related party transactions, and if they have any policies which cover these transactions and/or conflicts of interest.

A related party transaction (as defined in the Australian Accounting Standard AASB 124: Related Party Disclosures) is a transfer of resources, services or obligations between a charity and a related party regardless of whether a price is charged.

Note: if your charity prepares general purpose financial statements (or statements under a Reduced Disclosure Regime (RDR)), you must comply with AASB 124.

The following are related parties in relation to a registered charity:

• a person connected to the charity, such as a responsible person or a close member of their family that has control or joint control of the charity
• an organisation connected to the charity and that has control or significant influence over the charity, such as a parent-entity of the charity
• an organisation that the charity has control or significant influence over, such as a subsidiary-entity
• any organisation and the charity that are members of the same group (e.g. fellow subsidiaries)
• a member or a close member of their family of the key management personnel of the charity i.e. those persons or individuals having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity, directly or indirectly, such as CEO, CFO or treasurers.
• An associate (an entity over which the charity has significant influence) or joint venture (a joint arrangement whereby the charity with another entity/ies have joint control of the arrangements have rights to the net assets of the arrangement).

Related party transactions can include:

• purchases, sales, donations
• receipt of goods, services or property
• leases
• transfers of property including intellectual property
• loans
• guarantees
• provision of employees on a paid or complimentary basis.

More information on related parties.

15 (d) (ii) Documented policies or processes on related party transactions

Conflict of interest (whether perceived or actual) may arise where a related party has an interest that may conflict with the charity’s best interests.

Where a responsible person has a perceived or actual interest with a related party, it may be difficult to demonstrate that you are meeting your responsible persons’ duty to act in the best interest of a charity.

By having a related party policy and/or procedure in place, charities reduce the risk that their decisions may be influenced by the interests of others, rather than the best interests of the charity.

It may also help to ensure the transactions do not take place without approval by the charity’s responsible persons.

Transparency about these transactions helps to maintain and build trust and confidence in charities. We recommend that charities have a related party transaction policy or process to carefully manage these transactions.

More information about related party transactions.

Income statement and balance sheet for medium and large charities

Tips to complete the income statement and balance sheet

• Check that the amounts you enter match the totals in your financial report
• Make sure you provide amounts for all of the items that make up the total
• Use Australian dollars
• Round up or down to the nearest dollar – do not use cents
• Do not enter dollar signs, commas, or decimal points
• Do not leave a field blank, if the value is nil, enter 0.
• Include zeros to show thousands

Example income statement and balance sheet for medium and large charities

For more information about the line items in the income statement, see the National Standard Chart of Accounts (NSCOA).

Gross income

a. Revenue from government, including grants

Include all types of funding and financial assistance provided by Commonwealth, state, territory or local governments in the 2017 reporting period.

You may include amounts which under the accounting standards are classified as donations (refer to the relevant Australian accounting standards) even where there is no condition attached to the government grant.

Revenue from government includes:

• general purpose government grants or funding
• revenue received under a contract with government to provide specified services
• government procurement
• government rebates, supplements, subsidies or funded programs.

Do not include grants from non-government organisations or companies (these should be included in ‘revenue from providing goods or services’ or ‘donations and bequests’, depending on the type of grant).

Enter the total of all funding and financial assistance your charity received from the government in the reporting period.

If you received a one-off large amount of funding, grant or donation and the inclusion of those funds will place your charity temporarily into a higher size classification than it would usually be in, and your charity is likely to return to its normal size in future years, you can submit Form 4D: Apply to keep charity size before completing and submitting the AIS.

b.Donations and bequests

A donation is when a charity receives voluntary support (in cash or gifts in kind) and there is no material benefit to the donor.

For example, it will not be a donation if the person giving money to the charity does so because they want entry to a special event, or wish to receive goods in return.

Donations and bequests include:

• donations from
  • public collections
  • fundraising
  • philanthropic trusts and corporations (including some types of grants from these bodies, see the “Classifying non-government grant revenue” box below for clarification)
  • members (but not membership fees)
  • supporters
  • employees
• bequests and memorials
• tax deductible donations and gifts from the public,
• tax deductible donations from members, supporters and employees
• non-tax deductible gifts and bequests.

Classifying non-government grant revenue

In the AIS, revenue derived from grants can be classified under two sections:

• (b) Donations and bequests
• (c) Revenue from providing goods and services.

The majority of grants are provided on the basis that the recipient delivers on some obligations in return – for example, providing a specific service or program.

This type of grant is said to have dual purposes (a donation component and a performance obligation). If the donation component cannot be identified separately and measured reliably, the whole grant must be included under the “(c) revenue from providing goods and services” section of your AIS.

Any grant without a defined performance obligation – for example, a general purpose grant or a grant towards core operating costs – should be included under the “donations and bequests” section of your AIS.

Do not include fundraising income where there is a sale of an item – for example, do not include raffle tickets, tickets to a fundraising event, sale of merchandise like pens or badges, charity auctions raffle tickets. Fundraising income can be included under (c) Revenue from provided goods and services.

For charities reporting under cash accounting, you should only record actual cash receipts in relation to donations and bequests.

If you are reporting under accrual accounting arrangements, in-kind donation or support will be valued at the same value your charity would have had to pay to receive that donation or support.

Enter the total of all donations and bequests your charity received in the reporting period.

c. Revenue from providing goods and services

Include revenue from providing goods or services as part of your charity’s ordinary activities.

Revenue from providing goods and services includes:

• sales of raffle tickets
• selling goods and services, including donated items
• sales of chocolates, fundraising gala dinners and charity
• commercial activities such as running a café or opportunity shop
• fees and charges for services provided such as child care services, hospital fees, and licensing fees
• certain types of grants from non-government bodies like philanthropic trusts and corporations (refer to the “Classifying non-government grant revenue” box above for more information)
• Social housing rental income
• running lotteries and gaming machines
• receiving royalties
• membership fees
• corporate sponsorship revenue – for example, when a business contributes financially towards the charity’s programs in exchange for recognition
• subscription fees.
• Do not include any revenue from government – this should be included under ‘revenue from government including grants’.
• Enter the total amount of revenue from providing goods or services in the reporting period.

d. Revenue from investments

Include interest, dividends and distributions from investments such as shares and units in managed funds.

Examples include revenue from:

• interest earned from bank accounts, including term deposits
• dividends and/or distributions from investment portfolios held by the charity
• dividends and/or distributions from units held in managed funds which may contain real estate.

Do not include:

• rental income – this should appear in ‘revenue from providing goods or services’, if earned as part of your charity’s ordinary activities, or in ‘other revenue’
• the increase in fair value of investments – this should be included in ‘other income’.

Enter the total amount of revenue from investments.

e. Other revenue

Include other revenue items that are not included elsewhere.

Other revenue may include:

• levies where there is no obligation to supply goods or services
• recoupments – for example, electricity for sublet arrangements, insurance recoupments for workers compensation, salaries for jury duty and other cost recoveries such as airfares and accommodation for conferences
• rental income (if not earned as part of your charity’s ordinary activities)
• other revenue not already captured in the above categories.

Enter the total of all other revenue your charity received in the reporting period.

More information about revenue.

f. Total revenue (a + b + c + d + e)

Ensure your charity’s total revenue matches the size of your charity.

• Small: annual revenue less than $250,000
• Medium: annual revenue of $250,000 to $999,999
• Large: annual revenue of $1 million or more.

This total is auto calculated from your charity’s revenue from government, donations and bequests, revenue from providing goods or services, revenue from investment, and other revenue.

g. Other income (for example gains) if applicable

Other income comes from transactions that are not part of your charity’s ordinary operations but affect your charity’s profit and loss.

Other income may include:

• gains (only when that form part of the surplus/deficit for the year) such as sale of an asset of your charity such as sale of a motor vehicle, equipment, real estate, investments, assets that are not part of your charity’s inventory (stock or sale of goods)
• forgiveness of a liability or debt
• gains on foreign currency transactions.

Do not include items already listed in a, b, c, d or e, or items outside the surplus/deficit for the year.

If your charity has other income to report, enter the amount here.

h. Total gross income (f + g)

This total is auto calculated from your total revenue and other income.

Expenses

i. Employee expenses

Employee expenses include all salaries and wages paid (and payable if using accrual accounting) to all staff employed by your charity. This includes permanent, casual and temporary staff. It also includes leave expenses and superannuation.

Enter the amount of employee expenses/payment

j. Interest expenses (large charities only)

Interest expenses include interest paid by your charity on any money it has borrowed (for example interest on the charity’s bank overdraft or mortgage) as well as any interest accrued during the reporting period that has not yet been paid.

k. Grants and donations made for use in Australia

Grants and donations made by your charity for use in Australia, for example grant scholarships and grants to other charities, individuals or beneficiaries. Do not include grants and donations which are distributiosn made from equity/fund to beneficiaries. Where the trust distribution was made from equity/reserves of the charity, this is a movement in equity and not be reflected as an expenses in the income statement of the AIS.

l. Grants and donations made for use outside Australia

Grants and donations made by your charity for use outside Australia may include:

• sponsorship programs or projects that your charity manages
• money, goods or services your charity has donated to sister organisations or main governing body overseas
• indirectly sending money overseas, via another Australian organisation or charity.

If your charity has made a grant or donation for use outside Australia, list the country where the grant or donation was made in question 10.

Do not include grants and donations which are distributions made from equity/fund to beneficiaries. Where the trust distribution was made from equity/reserves of the charity, this is a movement in equity and not be reflected as an expenses in the income statement of the AIS.

m. All other expenses

Other expenses are those not already listed. These may include:

• administration costs
• agency contractor staff
• amortisation expense (loss due to the depreciation of a non-tangible asset – for example: intellectual property such as patents, trademarks or copyrights)
• auspicing/partnership fees
• bad debts
• bank charges
• board/governance expenses, including governance activities such as travel and accommodation for meetings
• cleaning
• consultancy fees
• cost of goods sold
• costs directly associated with grant funds
• credit card fees
• depreciation
• entertainment costs
• equipment hire/lease
• printing and stationery
• rental expenses
• repairs and maintenance.

n. Total expenses (i + j + k + l + m)

This amount is auto calculated from your answers to i, j, k, l and m.

o. Net surplus/deficit (h - n)

This amount is auto calculated by subtracting your total expenses (n) from your total income (h).

p. Other comprehensive income, if applicable

Other comprehensive income (OCI) is identified below the surplus/deficit line in a total comprehensive income statement, for example a revaluation of land or buildings owned by the charity (but not sold).

q. Total comprehensive income (o + p)

This amount is auto calculated by adding your net surplus/deficit and OCI.

Balance sheet

Assets

r. Total current assets

Assets provide future benefits to the charity and include anything of identifiable value that is owned by your charity at the end of the reporting period.

Assets are generally ‘current assets’ if they are expected to be realised, sold or consumed within a twelve month period from the end of the reporting period.

Current assets may include:

• cash in the bank (restricted and unrestricted)
• petty cash
• cash on hand
• short-term investment
• prepayments
• accrued income
• other financial assets
• accounts receivable, less provision for doubtful debts
• rental debtors accounts receivable, less provision for doubtful rental debtors
• other debtors, less provision for doubtful debts
• inventory on hand – such as stock held by your charity or as food or clothing held for distribution.

s. Non-current loans receivable (large charities only)

Non-current loans receivable include loans receivable by the charity from other entities, in the period beyond 12 months from end of the reporting period.

t. Other non-current assets (large charities only)

Other non-current assets usually relate to fixed assets such as land and buildings but can also include other items expected to be realised, sold or consumed more than 12 months from the end of reporting period.

If your charity intends to settle the sale of an asset that would normally be considered a non-current asset, within no more than 12 months from the end of the reporting period, then it may be more appropriate to classify it as a current asset.

Other non-current assets may include, but are not limited to:

• long-term investments and other financial assets (not trading stock)
• land
• accounts receivable not realised within the next 12 months from the end of the reporting period, less provision for doubtful debts
• rental accounts receivable not realised within the next 12 months from the end of the reporting period, less provision for doubtful rental debtors
• buildings, less accumulated depreciation of buildings
• plant and equipment, less accumulated depreciation of plant and equipment
• rental property furniture and fittings, less their accumulated depreciation
• motor vehicles, less their accumulated depreciation

u. Total non-current assets

Medium-sized charities should enter the total amount of non-current assets at this point in their 2017 Annual Information Statement. For large charities, this figure will be auto-calculated (s + t)

v. Total assets

This amount is auto calculated, r +u

Liabilities

Liabilities are the future sacrifices of economic benefits to the charity – generally, what it owes. It includes anything of identifiable value that is owed by your charity at the end of the financial year.

w. Total current liabilities

Liabilities are generally ‘current’ if they are expected to be paid within 12 months from the end of the financial year.

Current liabilities may include, but are not limited to:

• accounts payable
• accrued expenses
• loans payable
• payables – other
• GST payable
• employee entitlements (benefits/provisions)
• ABN withholding tax payable
• PAYG withholding payable
• superannuation payable
• salary sacrifice
• hire purchase liability
• lease liability
• revenue received in advance
• grants received in advance
• grants payable to government departments.

x. Non current loans payable (large charities only)

Non-current loans payable should include loans payable by the charity to other entities in the period beyond 12 months from end of the reporting period.

y. Other non current liabilities (large charities only)

Other non-current liabilities relate to balances that are expected to be settled beyond a 12 month period from the end of the reporting period. If a liability that would normally be included as non-current is likely to be repaid within the next 12 months from the reporting period, it may be more appropriate to list it as current.

Other non-current liabilities include:

• hire purchase liability
• lease liability
• employee entitlements (benefits/provisions)
• loans payable not likely to be repaid in the next 12 months.

z. Total non-current liabilities

Medium-sized charities should enter the total amount of non-current liabilities at this point in the 2017 Annual Information Statement. For large charities, this figure will be auto calculated (x + y)

aa. Total liabilities (w + z)

This amount is auto calculated by adding your charity’s total current liabilities (w) to its total non-current liabilities (z)

ab. Net assets/liabilities (v – aa)
This amount is auto calculated by subtracting your charity’s liabilities (aa) from its net assets (v).

Financial report – medium and large charities

Medium and large charities must submit a financial report for the reporting period.

The financial report must include:

• 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
• a signed and dated reviewer’s report/auditor’s report (for medium charities)
• a signed and dated auditor’s report (for large charities).

16 (a) Have you submitted this financial report to a state/territory regulator?

If you reported to a state/territory regulator because your charity is an incorporated association, a cooperative or a charitable fundraising organisation, we have transitional arrangements in place to accept those financial reports as meeting your obligation to provide a financial report to the ACNC.

More information on transitional reporting arrangements.

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to answer this question. If you have selected ‘no’, skip to 16 (d).

16 (b) Where did you submit your financial report?

For us to accept the financial report your charity provided to a state/territory regulator as meeting ACNC requirements, we need to know the state/territory where it was submitted.

Check the boxes to indicate the state or territories where you submitted your financial report.

16 (c) Why did you have to submit this financial report?

Select the appropriate option: My charity is... ‘an incorporated association’, ‘a cooperative’, ‘a charitable fundraising organisation’.

16 (d) Upload your financial report for the 2017 reporting period

If your charity has been approved to withhold certain information from the ACNC Register, you will be given the option to upload a version of your financial report with this information removed (redacted).

An annual report is a publication which can detail a range of important information about a charity and its work in the reporting period. It may include:

• Its mission and vision
• Overviews of its activities and achievements over the past 12 months, as well as future activities it has planned
• Reports from key staff and board members, and information about the charity’s finances and governance

If your charity has an annual report, you can include a web link to it, or upload it so it can be easily accessed from your charity’s listing on the ACNC Register. Do not provide your financial report here.

Your charity’s most recent annual report will be displayed on the ACNC Register.

These questions have been designed to help the ACNC work with state and territory regulators to implement streamlined reporting, so that charities will not need to report multiple times to multiple regulators.

For your charity to participate in these streamlined reporting arrangements, you must complete all questions for the relevant state and/or territory.

Notes for registered charities in South Australia and Tasmania

In 2016, both South Australia and Tasmania made changes to their laws to cut red tape for charities operating or fundraising in these states.

Completing and submitting your 2017 AIS will see charities operating or fundraising in these states able to significantly reduce the amount of reporting they do to State Government departments.

South Australia – Incorporated Associations

Under streamlined reporting arrangements, charities registered with the ACNC which are also incorporated associations in South Australia will no longer have to submit an annual report to South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services.

This applies even if the charity would have been a prescribed association reporting in South Australia (having gross receipts, excluding member subscriptions, of over $500 000 during the financial year).

If your charity is an incorporated association in South Australia, would have been a prescribed association, and wants to be eligible for streamlined annual reporting arrangements, you need to:

• Answer ‘yes’ to Question 18 (a) below, and include your association number at Question 18 (b), and
• Complete your AIS before the due date.

You can find your association number by searching for your charity at the Consumer and Business Services website.

If you don’t complete your AIS on time – or don’t include your association number – you won’t be included in the streamlined reporting arrangements. This will also mean your charity may have to submit a form to Consumer and Business Services.

If your charity is an incorporated association in SA but would not have been a prescribed association, you may still optionally answer question 18(a). Doing so will help the ACNC with red tape reduction work.

South Australia – Fundraising

Under streamlined reporting arrangements, charities registered with the ACNC which conduct fundraising in South Australia and have notified South Australia of this:

• are deemed to hold a licence and no longer need to renew their licence each year
• do not have to report to South Australia Consumer and Business Services.

If your charity wants to be eligible for streamlined fundraising reporting arrangements, you must:

• use the ACNC’s Charity Portal to notify South Australia of your intention to fundraise, unless you have already done so, and
• complete your AIS before the due date.

If you don’t complete your AIS on time – or you don’t notify the South Australian authorities – you won’t be included in the streamlined fundraising reporting.

This means you may have to submit a form to South Australian authorities, or be liable for a penalty from South Australia.

Tasmania

Under streamlined reporting arrangements, charities that are incorporated in Tasmania no longer need to send an annual report to Tasmanian Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading. To be eligible for this exemption, you must:

• Answer ‘yes’ to Question 18 (a) below, and include your association number at Question 18 (b), and
• Complete your AIS before the due date.

If you don’t complete your AIS on time, or don’t include your association number, you won’t be included in the streamlined reporting. This means you will have to submit a form to Tasmanian Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading.

Incorporated Association questions

18 (a) Is your charity an incorporated association?

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

This question refers only to charities incorporated with their state or territory, and which report to a state or territory regulator (such as the Office of Fair Trading or a consumer protection body). If your charity is incorporated in a state or territory of Australia, answer ‘yes’. Otherwise, select ‘no’.

18 (b) Select the state/territory and enter your incorporated association number.

If your charity is incorporated, select the state or territory where your charity is incorporated, and then enter the Incorporated Association Number.

State and territory-specific questions

Selected charities in some states and territories will be asked specific questions after they enter their Incorporated Association Number into the 2017 AIS Form. Guidance for these questions is outlined below:

Australian Capital Territory

1) What was the date of your charity's annual general meeting (AGM)?

Enter the date of the AGM (DD/MM/YYYY).

Your charity is required to hold an annual general meeting (AGM). Enter the date that the AGM took place.

The ACNC has more information on AGMs.

2) Has your charity met the minimum membership requirements?

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Under section 14 of the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT), your charity must have at least 5 members.

Northern Territory

1) What was the date of your charity's annual general meeting (AGM)?

Enter the date of the AGM (DD/MM/YYYY).

Your charity is required to hold an annual general meeting (AGM). Enter the date that the AGM took place.

The ACNC has more information on AGMs.

Victoria

1) What was the date of your charity's annual general meeting (AGM)?

Enter the date of the AGM (DD/MM/YYYY).

Your charity is required to hold an annual general meeting (AGM). Enter the date that the AGM took place.

The ACNC has more information on AGMs.

Western Australia

1) What was the date of your charity's annual general meeting (AGM)?

Enter the date of the AGM (DD/MM/YYYY).

Your charity is required to hold an annual general meeting (AGM). Enter the date that the AGM took place.

The ACNC has more information on AGMs.

2) Does your charity currently have at least six voting members?

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Under sections 4 and 17 of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA), an association must always have at least 6 members with full voting rights. Additional information is available through Consumer Protection (Department of Commerce).

Fundraising questions

19 (a) Does your charity intend to fundraise in the 2018 reporting period?

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

19 (b) Select the state/territory where your charity intends to fundraise in the 2018 reporting period.

If your charity is going to fundraising during the 2018 reporting period, select the state/s or territory/ies where your charity will do so.

If you hold a fundraising licence, enter it next to the relevant state/s or territory/ies.

Providing this information will help the ACNC streamline reporting and reduce red tape for charities.

You have an obligation to notify the ACNC of changes to your charity’s details, including responsible people, governing documents and charity subtype.

Responsible persons

Responsible Persons are members of your charity's governing body such as directors, committee members or trustees (called 'responsible entities' under the ACNC Act).

As part of the 2017 AIS you have the opportunity to review the details of your charity’s responsible persons, as well as update or add details if required.

Note: Only the name of each responsible person and the position they hold in your charity will appear on the ACNC Register.

Once you have updated it, or if it is already up to date, tick the box to confirm.

More information about Responsible Persons.

Governing documents

A charity's governing document is the formal document that sets out the charity's charitable purpose or purposes, activities and the way that the governing body of the charity (such as the committee of management, or board) makes decisions and consults any members.

If your governing document has changed, you can update it after completing the 2017 AIS. To do so, visit the Charity Portal, go to 'Change charity details' and select 'Change my governing documents'.

More information about governing documents.

Subtypes

When the ACNC registers a charity, we register it under one or more ‘subtypes’ of charity. These subtypes generally reflect the charity’s purpose, for example advancing health or advancing education.

If your charity’s purpose has changed, or expanded, you may need to change your charity’s subtype. You can do this through the Charity Portal.

More information about charity subtypes.

This section of the AIS is only for Ancillary Funds. If your charity is not an Ancillary Fund, this section will not appear when you are completing your AIS online.

Completing this section of the AIS replaces the requirement to lodge a separate Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Ancillary Fund Return for 2017. The information is not for publication and will be forwarded to the ATO only.

Most of the information in this section has been provided by the ATO. Further information is available at the ATO’s website. The ATO will refer to ‘your charity’ as ‘your fund.’ These terms are the same.

21. Complete the additional financial information

Your fund will need to provide details about all donations received in the 2017 financial year.

We have prefilled the total amount of donations based on the amount provided at ‘Donations and Bequests’ in Section D of your AIS.

If this amount is incorrect, you will need to go back and change the figure entered at ‘Donations and Bequests.’

(i) Cash received

Enter the amount of total cash donations received.

(ii) Value of shares in publicly listed entities received

Enter the total value of shares in publicly listed entities received.

(iii) Value of shares in unlisted entities received

Enter the total value of shares in unlisted entities received.

(iv) Combined value of collectibles, land, buildings and other property received

Collectables include:

• paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings or photographs, reproductions of these items or property of a similar description or use
• jewellery
• antiques
• coins or medallions
• rare folios, manuscripts or books
• postage stamps or first day covers.

Collectables also include:

• an interest in any of the items listed above
• a debt that arises from any of those items
• an option or right to acquire any of those items.

Enter the total value of collectibles, land, buildings and other property received.

Ensure the total value of donations matches the figure you entered at ‘Donations and Bequests’ in Section D of your 2017 AIS.

Market value of assets

The market value of the fund’s assets must be estimated in accordance with the ATO’s Ancillary Fund Guidelines and any other directions from the ATO.

Estimates must be finalised before the fund is required to lodge its Annual Information Statement. The table below summarises:

• the method that must be used to obtain estimates; and
• when estimates must be made.

For more information:

• refer to Private Ancillary Fund Guidelines 20 to 23,
• Public Ancillary Fund Guidelines 20 to 23, or
• contact the ATO on 1300 130 248.

We have prefilled the market value of assets based on the amount at ‘Total Assets’ in Section D of the AIS.

(v) Cash and term deposits

Enter the amount (in Australian currency) of all cash held and term deposits held (including accounts with any Australian financial institutions).

(vi) Listed shares

This category relates to shares, equities and similar financial contracts that are traded on Australian stock exchanges, excluding debt securities. Include investments in listed trusts here.

To answer this question, enter the market value of shares, equities and similar financial contracts that are held within Australia and traded on Australian stock exchanges.

(vii) Unlisted shares

This category refers to shares, equities and similar financial contracts that are not listed on Australian stock exchanges but are located in Australia. Include investments in unlisted trusts here.

To answer this question, enter the market value of shares, equities and similar financial contracts that the fund held within Australia and are not listed on Australian stock exchanges.

(viii) Loans

Enter the amount that the fund has loaned that has not been repaid.

(ix) Land, buildings and any other assets

Enter the market value of land, buildings and any other assets.

(x) Total market value of assets

This value is auto-calculated based on (v) to (ix).

Distributions made

22. Distributions made in the 2017 reporting period

Charitable ancillary funds distribute to charitable DGRs that are covered by Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The Australian Business Register indicates whether an entity is an Item 1 DGR.

A distribution includes the provision of money, property or benefits.

To complete this question, download and complete the Ancillary Fund Distributions spreadsheet. This spreadsheet details the distributions your fund made

Where distributions were made to the same recipient, combine all these distributions.

List the names of the entities to which distributions were made, including their ABNs and the breakdown of distributions into the amount of money or the value of property.

A. Name of recipient

Enter the legal name of the recipient.

B. ABN of recipient

Enter the ABN of the recipient.

C. Money distributed

Enter the amount of money distributed to the recipient.

D. Market value of property distributed

Enter the market value of property distributed to the recipient.

E. Total value of distributions made

This amount is calculated based on all amounts in C and D.

23. Information relating to entitlement to endorsement

(a) Has the fund’s auditor or reviewer confirmed compliance with the Ancillary Fund Guidelines relating to the 2017 reporting period?

To answer this question, select yes or no.

Each financial year the trustee must arrange for an auditor or reviewer to audit compliance with the Ancillary Guidelines by the fund and the trustee. The audit or review must be finalised before the date that the AIS is due.

An ancillary fund with revenue and assets of less than $1 million in a particular financial year may have its compliance with the Ancillary Fund Guidelines reviewed rather than audited, unless:

• the Commissioner advises otherwise
• your trust deed requires an audit.

A reviewer must meet the requirements provided in:

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1A.1 or
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.2.1.

An auditor must meet the requirements provided in :

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1 or
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1.

For more information, refer to:

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28, 29 and 48 and
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28, 29 and 47.

(b) Does the fund maintain a current written investment strategy?

To answer this question, select yes or no.

The trustee of your fund must prepare and maintain a current investment strategy for the fund that sets out the investment objectives of the fund and details the investment methods the trustee will adopt to achieve those objectives.

The investment strategy (and a record of the associated decision-making processes) must be available in a written form so that:

• the trustee;
• an auditor;
• a reviewer; or
• the Commissioner of Taxation

can determine whether the fund has complied with the Ancillary Fund Guidelines.

For more information:

• refer to Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 30, 31 and 32, and
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 30, 31 and 32.

(c) Has the fund entered into a financial dealing with a person or entity associated with the founder or trustees of the fund?

To answer this question, select yes or no.

Dealings (except by way of gift), with a founder donor, trustee, director, officer, agent, member or employee of the trustee, or an associate of these entities must be at arm's length or on terms more favourable to the fund than would otherwise be expected under an arm's length transaction.

For more information:

• refer to Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 36, and
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 36.

(d) Did the fund wind up or cease to be a Public or Private Ancillary Fund during the 2017 reporting period?

To answer this question, select yes or no.

If your fund was wound up or ceased to be a Public or a Private Ancillary Fund during the financial year, you need to answer yes.

If you have not provided the ACNC with your fund’s audited or reviewed financial reports, the ATO will contact you to request this.

(e) Have the fund's financial statements been audited or reviewed?

This question only appears for small charities.

To answer this question, select yes or no.

Each financial year the trustee must arrange for an auditor or reviewer to audit compliance with the Ancillary Guidelines by the fund and the trustee. The audit or review must be finalised before the date that the Annual Information Statement is due.

An ancillary fund with revenue and assets of less than $1 million in a particular financial year may have its compliance with the Ancillary Fund Guidelines reviewed rather than audited, unless:

• the Commissioner advises otherwise
• your trust deed requires an audit.

A reviewer must meet the requirements provided in :

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1A.1 or
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.2.1.

An auditor must meet the requirements provided in :

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1 or
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28.1.

For more information, refer to :

• Private Ancillary Fund Guideline 28, 29 and 48 and
• Public Ancillary Fund Guideline 28, 29 and 47.