Bulk Charity Application FAQs

The CBAA is advising stations register as charities because of advice from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC)  

 

The ATO introduced an annual requirement that not-for-profit organisations self-assess for their income tax exemption by completing the not-for-profit self-review return, starting in the 2023/24 financial year. 

 

In correspondence, the ATO advised the CBAA that: 

 

"If a community radio station, regardless of size, has only charitable purposes then it must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and endorsed by the ATO to be income tax exempt."  

 

Prior to this project, 60% of community radio stations  were already registered charities. The ACNC has also confirmed that broadly speaking community radio stations are eligible to be charities (note: there are very limited exceptions). 

 

To ensure stations have continued access to an income tax exemption, the CBAA is assisting stations to register as charities through a bulk charity registration.  

Prior to registering your station as a charity you will need to ensure the stations documentation meets the ACNCs expectations.     

 

You will need to: 

 

  • Confirm the station's ABN is current and up to date  

  • Confirm the station’s legal name and entity type is consistent on the station’s constitution, ABN and state or federal industry regulator, whichever applies to you eg. Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs, DMIRS, ASIC, ORIC etc. 

  • Collect personal details of all board/committee members including: 

    • Name 

    • Date of Birth 

    • Home address, phone number and email 

    • Position within the organisation and date of commencement 

  • Confirm the station's constitution satisfies the ACNC’s requirements to register as a charity

Registered charities need to maintain their eligibility to charity registration, and have ongoing obligations to the ACNC. 

 

Specifically these are:  

 

  • keep charity status 

  • notify the ACNC of changes 

  • keep records 

  • report annually 

  • comply with the ACNC Governance Standards and External Conduct Standards. 

 

Once your station is a registered charity you will have access to a charity portal where you are required to report annually to the ACNC.  

 

To reduce reporting requirements the ACNC has streamlined arrangements in place with other federal and state and territory regulators so your ACNC reporting will replace your existing obligations to report to industry regulators eg. Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs, DMIRS, ASIC.  

 

Except for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations who continue reporting to ORIC. 

For this year, yes.  

 

The not-for-profit self-review return is an annual reporting requirement. The ATO has advised they expect all organisations who were required to complete the not-for-profit self-review return in 2023/24 to complete it, even if they are now pursuing charity registration.  

 

Once the station is a registered charity, you will not be required to complete the not-for-profit self-review in future years. 

 

Please note: the last date to complete the not-for-profit self-review for FY 2023/24 is March 31, 2025. 

The ATO's NFP self-review return is a short questionnaire that will categorise your station based on eligibility for an income tax exemption.  

It must be completed by the station’s authorised contact with the ATO.  

The authorised contact can either connect their personal myID (formerly myGov ID) to the organisations Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) or call the self help service on 13 72 26.  

We recommend the following answers:  

  • Question 2:  Choose a category that best reflects the main purpose of the organisation.  Select "cultural" as general music and radio broadcasting qualifies under this category. 
  • Question 5: Does the organisation have any charitable purposes? Select "Yes," this is the reason we are registering with the ACNC.   

You may be contacted by the ATO to confirm you are pursuing ACNC registration. If this happens you can let them know that you are working with the CBAA on a bulk ACNC application for community radio stations. 

More information on the ATO website 

No.  

 

When registering your station as a charity, you are able to request that the registration be back dated so that so that tax exemptions can be applied retrospectively.  

 

The ACNC will register your organisation on or after the latest of these dates: 

  

  • the organisation’s establishment date 

  • the date on which the organisation’s ABN was made active 

  • the date on which it meets the requirements to be registered as a charity 

  • 3 December 2012 (the date that the ACNC was established). 

 

Additionally, the ATO has stated they recognised many not-for-profits made genuine errors when they previously self-identified as income tax exempt and their current approach to compliance will focus resources starting from the 23/24 financial year to ensure not-for-profits get it right moving forward. 

The CBAA sought legal advice from Mills Oakley to confirm our approach and draft model constitutional clauses to assist stations to register with the ACNC. The ACNC is particularly interested in clauses: 

  1. Objects 

  1. Income & Property 

  1. Winding up/Surplus assets 

 

The ATO supplied the CBAA with general information on the not-for-profit self-review return and specific advice for community radio stations. It is recommended that these documents are read together.  

It is the CBAA’s opinion that registering as a charity is the best option for our members. However, ultimately the decision to do so is a matter for your station.  

If your station does not want to pursue charity status or is not ready to at this time, the station must:  

  • complete the not-for profit self-review by March 31, 2025  
  • if taxable income is $416 or less you must notify the ATO of a non lodgment advice
  • if taxable income exceeds $416 the station must lodge a tax return by May 15, 2025. Depending on the tax return, the station may be liable to pay income tax 

This will be an annual requirement for stations that do not register with the ACNC.

No.  

 

Registering with the ACNC will make your station eligible to claim an income tax exemption and other benefits of being a charity, provided you meet the annual reporting and governance requirements to maintain your charity registration.  

  

To offer donors tax deductible gift receipts, your station will need to apply for Deductible Gift Receipt status (DGR). This is an additional hurdle that can be pursued after your station is registered as a charity through the CBAA bulk registration. 

 

If your station would like to seek DGR in future, the model constitutional changes provided include additional clauses to ensure your constitution is DGR ready. 

 

The CBAA recommends stations seek independent advice to apply for and manage DGR status.

The ATO’s requirement to complete a not-for-profit self-review return was introduced for the 2023/24 financial year, prior to this, organisations could self-identify as income tax exempt with no documentation. 

 

The ATO has advised that under the previous system, many not-for profit organisations were incorrectly self-identifying as income tax exemption.   

 

ATO has stressed that tax law has not changed. The not-for-profit self-review return is a tool to categorise not-for-profits based on eligibility for income tax exemption under Division 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. 

 

If a station chooses not to register as a charity, they will be classed as a taxable not-for-profit.  If taxable income is $416 or less you must notify the ATO of a non lodgment advice, if taxable income exceeds $416 the station must lodge a tax return by May 15, 2025

Following the advice of the ACNC and the ATO stations are unable to self-assess as income tax exempt.  

The CBAA recommend the following answers on the not-for-profit self-review return: 

  • Question 2:  Choose a category that best reflects the main purpose of the organisation.  Select "cultural" as general music and radio broadcasting qualifies under this category. 
  • Question 5: Does the organisation have any charitable purposes?  Select "Yes," regardless of the size, the objects of a community radio station meet the legal definition of having “only charitable purposes.”  

(Note: there are very limited exceptions, contact megan.williams@cbaa.org.au if you are unsure)  

To answer the questions in a way that allows a station to self-assess for an income tax exemption would be against the advice the CBAA has received from the ACNC and the ATO. 

The ATO’s administrative changes to self-assess eligibility for income tax exemptions apply to non-charitable not-for-profits. Social groups and sporting organisations are the most common types of not-for-profits that are eligible for an income tax exemption using the self-assessment tool.   

As community radio stations meet the legal definition of a charity, we are required to register with the ACNC to access an income tax exemption.

Your regular BAS reporting covers GST related transactions and tax withheld from wages if that applies to you.  The income tax exemption is a separate matter.

Yes.  If you are registered for GST and/or pay wages, you will still have to prepare a BAS.

Substituted accounting periods (SAPs) apply to organisations that have a different financial reporting period to the standard tax year of 1 July to 30 June. Some that report under a SAP may not have their SAP approved by the ATO.  

 

If your station has an ATO approved SAP, you can find the deadline for self-review on the ATO website.  

 

However, the CBAA recommends joining our streamlined charity application now, as we will provide support and ease the process well before the deadline for stations.