Charities Act review

In 2019, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) initiated the first review of the Charities Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for purpose. The review includes looking at specific issues such as reporting requirements, accumulation of funds and charities’ business activities, however it is limited in scope and has led some experts to question whether it goes far enough to address all significant concerns with the operation of the Act.

New Zealand doesn’t have governance standards or a code specifically for charities or not-for-profits and is out of step in this regard with other similar jurisdictions. The IoD believes there is considerable benefit in introducing governance standards through a specific governance code for the charitable/NFP sector that is fit for purpose and value adding to help raise the standard of governance.

DIA is now resuming work on modernising the Charities Act and is currently working through the issues raised in the public submissions. The initial topics to be advanced are reporting requirements for small charities, charities’ business and accumulation activities, investigating potential improvements to the appeals mechanism, matters relating to the regulator and duties of officers of charities.

If a bill is introduced to amend the Charities Act, further public submissions will be called for as part of the legislative process.

For more see:

• our submission on modernising the Charities Act
• our media release
• the Department of Internal Affairs' website.