Register and licence your PAF, charity or NFP

Get registered so donors are backing an institution, not just you.

Until the registrations are through, your organisation is an intention rather than an institution. Donors can’t claim a deduction, grant bodies won’t consider you, and the ATO can look back at the structure later. We prepare and lodge the applications across the charity regulator, the ATO and any state authority that applies, and we keep them consistent with each other. You finish registered, endorsed where you are eligible, and able to fundraise properly.

Speak to a lawyer What is included

Registrations that agree with each other

Your charity, ATO and state applications tell one consistent story, which is what stops them bouncing back.

Donors who can claim their gift

DGR endorsement turns a donation into a deduction, which is usually the difference between interest and a cheque.

A timeline you can plan to

You get a realistic estimate at the outset and know what is outstanding at every stage.

What registrations and licences does a charity or NFP need?

Most charitable organisations in Australia need more than one registration, and they come from different places. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission registers the charity itself and decides whether your purposes qualify. The ATO handles endorsements, which is where Deductible Gift Recipient status, GST concessions and FBT exemptions come from. States run their own fundraising licences, which bite as soon as you ask the public for money across a border. The applications are separate but they are read against each other, so an inconsistency in one can stall the rest.

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What is the difference between ACNC registration and ATO endorsement?

Registration with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission recognises your organisation as a charity, and is about your purposes. ATO endorsement is separate and is about tax: DGR status, GST concessions and FBT exemptions each come from the ATO. Most organisations need both, and the ATO generally wants the charity registration settled first.

Do I need to register my charity in each state where it operates?

Possibly, if you fundraise from the public. Several states run their own fundraising licences, and the thresholds and exemptions differ between them. We will look at where you will actually solicit donations and tell you which licences follow.

How long does charity registration take?

It ranges from a few weeks to several months, depending on how clearly the application establishes charitable purpose and how busy the regulator is. ATO endorsements run on their own timetable after that. A clean, internally consistent application is the main thing you control.

What are the ongoing compliance obligations after registration?

Registered charities lodge an Annual Information Statement each year and must keep meeting the governance standards and their stated charitable purpose. Medium and large charities also lodge financial statements. We can set the reporting framework up at registration so the first year doesn’t catch you out.

Not sure which registrations your charity needs or where to start?

Before we map the pathway, tell us what the organisation does and how it will raise money. Those two answers decide which registrations apply and which you can skip.

Until you are registered, every donor is backing you personally

Registering means dealing with several bodies at once, each with its own form, its own timetable and its own view of what your organisation is. They don’t talk to each other, but they do notice when your answers differ. Meanwhile the work you set the organisation up to do is waiting, and you can’t tell anyone when it will start.

We will work out which registrations and licences your organisation actually needs before any form is started.
We will prepare the charity, ATO and state applications so they tell one consistent story.
We will lodge everything and answer the queries that come back.
We will set up the reporting framework you will need once the registrations are granted.

You have the mission and the money. What you do not have is the paperwork

The entity exists, the people are ready, and someone has offered to donate on the condition that it’s deductible. You opened the charity registration application, found it asking questions you hadn’t resolved, and parked it. The ATO endorsement seems to depend on the charity outcome, or possibly the other way around. Every week it sits there is a week your donors stay interested but don’t commit.

What's included in your charity registration service

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An assessment of which registrations, endorsements and state licences apply to you.
The charity registration application and its supporting documents.
The DGR endorsement application with the ATO.
Applications for GST concessions, FBT exemptions and other endorsements you qualify for.
A reporting framework for the obligations that start once you are registered.

An unregistered charity is a charity nobody can fund

Operating before the registrations are through is not a neutral holding pattern. Donors who wanted a deduction either wait or give elsewhere, and the ones who give anyway can’t be receipted properly. Grant programs screen on charity registration, so applications you would have won are never assessed. If the structure turns out not to qualify, the ATO can look back at the period you were operating and treat the concessions as never having applied. And each month the file sits open, the answers in your first application drift further from what the organisation has actually become, which is what triggers the queries that stall it further.

How we get the registrations through and keep them consistent

We start by settling what the organisation is for and how it will raise money, because that decides which registrations apply and stops you filing ones you don’t need. The applications are then drafted together rather than one at a time, so the charity regulator, the ATO and any state licensing body are given the same organisation described the same way. We lodge them, track them, and handle the queries directly instead of forwarding them to you. When the endorsements come through you can receipt donors properly, apply for grants, and tell the people who have been waiting that the organisation is open.

Three steps to a registered organisation

One story, told the same way to every regulator.

Scope the registrations

We work out which registrations, endorsements and state licences your activities and funding model actually require.

Draft them together

We prepare the charity, ATO and state applications as one set, so they are consistent and support each other.

Carry them through

We lodge, track and respond to queries until every registration and endorsement is granted.

Registrations run by the people who answer the queries

There is a particular frustration in having everything ready except the paperwork. The cause is real, the money is available, and the obstacle is a form that won’t tell you what it wants.

We prepare these applications as a set rather than one at a time, because the charity regulator and the ATO read them against each other, and the most common cause of delay is an inconsistency nobody intended. We have a Chartered Tax Advisor with The Tax Institute, which is relevant here because the endorsements turn on tax treatment rather than on your cause. We are also ISO 9001 accredited, so who is doing what on your file, and what you are told about it, follows a defined process.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Ready to get your registrations moving?

Registration is what turns your intention into something donors and grant bodies can back. Tell us what the organisation does, and we will tell you what it needs and how long it should take.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590