Monthly update 05 - December 2005
In brief: As you know, the Register for applications will open in the middle of next year. There is a lot to consider before then. For instance, will you register as a single entity or as a group? Do you know who your officers are? Are your rules in
good shape?
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'Tis the season to get your rules in shape
As you know, the Register for applications will open in the middle of next year. There is a lot to consider before then. For instance, will you register as a single entity or as a group? Do you know who your officers are? Are your rules in good shape?
Registering charities will be required to provide us with their governance documents, and the rules by which their organisation operates. Most of you will have these but a job for the New Year might be to look at them and ensure your activities comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2005.
For those of you who don’t yet have a set of rules, a good place to start is with the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. This Act specifies that the rules of a society state or provide for:
- the name of the society, with ‘incorporated’ as the last word in that name
- the objects for which the society is established
- how persons become members of the society
- how persons cease to be members
- how the rules of the society may be altered, added to, or rescinded
- how general meetings of the society are summoned and held, and the voting procedure
- appointment of officers of the society
- control and use of a common seal
- control and investment of funds
- powers (if any) of the society to borrow money
- disposition of the property of the society in the event of the society being put into liquidation.
A one-stop-shop
Our aim is to minimise the impact of registration on charities so that it does not require you to make changes to the nature of your organisation, or add to your workload. It is our intention, for instance, to make the compliance process easy by providing you with a one-stop-shop. For example, charities registered with the Commission will not need to need to seek confirmation from Inland Revenue of their tax-exempt status.
Dates for your diary
Speaking of tax exemption, the new tax regulations will come into effect on 1 October 2007. This means that charities wishing to retain or acquire tax-exempt status, must register with the Commission by 30 September 2007.
We will protect your privacy
When the Charities Register goes live, the names and activities of registered charities will be publicly available. Address details and information about officers will not. There is provision for certain information to be withheld by the Commission for privacy or other reasons, at the request of the organisation concerned.
Resources
We will print a new edition of the Guide to the Charities Act in the New Year which will contain minor but important changes. For instance, we expect all initial registrations to be complete by October 2007 and not April 2007 as stated in the current Guide.
If you have recently requested copies of the booklet, you will receive them in the New Year, when the latest edition is available. Thank you for your patience.
Keeping it Legal: E Ai Ki Te Ture is a valuable new resource, developed by the New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations and the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector. Brimming with practical information on the legal requirements and responsibilities of voluntary organisations, Keeping it Legal will complement the Charities Commission’s work towards supporting and educating the charitable sector on good governance and management.
We encourage you to check out the online version at www.nzfvwo.org.nz/keepingitlegal/
Our office will close at 5pm on 23 December and re-open on 4 January. Until then, we wish you all the very best for the season and a safe and prosperous year in 2006.
For more information
Visit our website at www.charities.govt.nz for the latest information on the Commission’s activities, and on the registration process.
Free phone: 0508 242 748
These updates will be provided monthly.