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Rotary District 9750 - Guide for Rotary Clubs on registration with authorities
The main government bodies that Rotary Clubs in NSW should be registered with are listed below:
Some interesting history on schemes used
over the years for numbering of Registration (CC for Registered
Charities and CFN numbers for Authority to Fundraise) and
Incorporation (Y and INC numbers) for Charities is on the
Charities Database Search, Additional Information Page: http://wwwdb.dgr.nsw.gov.au/scripts/cfq.exe/notes
All Rotary Clubs in District
9750 are registered as an Incorporated Association
with the NSW Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The Incorporated
Association Number will be of the form: Ynnnnn-nn or INCnnnnnnn
More info, see: D9750 Incorporated Associations Guide
Page
Rotary Clubs in District 9750 should have an
Authority to Fundraise
under the NSW Charitable Fundraising Act
from the
Charities Branch, of the
NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR).
The Charitable
Fundraising Number will be of the form: CFN nnnnn
More info is on the
OLGR Charitable Fundraising Guide Page:
http://www.olgr.nsw.gov.au - and then select the sidebar link to "Charitable Fundraising"
or Ph: 9995 0300. Mail: GPO Box 7060, Sydney NSW 2001.
E-mail can be lodged via a form on the OLGR "Contacts Information" page, also selected from their sidebar link.
Note that the OLGR (formerly called the DGR) says:
"
it is unlawful to conduct fundraising appeals for a charitable
purpose unless the person or organisation conducting the appeal
is the holder of an authority to fundraise issued under the act ".
An Authority to Fundraise will usually be granted for a period of 5 years. At the end of that time, an application renewal must be submitted with a copy of the the latest audited financial statements. Under some circumstances, a club may be requested to submit their audited financial statements during the course of the approval period (called a periodic return), but that is not very common.
Also please note, OLGR advises that:
"The term 'registered charity' no longer has any meaning under NSW Legislation and should not be used".
Taxation: Rotary Clubs in District 9750 should carefully check their situation with the information available from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
First - Do you have Deductible Gift Recipient status? Are you an Income Tax Exempt Charity (ITEC), a non-profit organisation or a taxable organisation, maybe even
with Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) liability perhaps ? Are
you really sure ?
What are the criteria, and what is required in each case ? See
the ATO web site:
Is your organisation income tax exempt?
For the most accessible
advice on this area, see GiftPack and the
associated Guides, such as "Fundraising
- Tax basics for non-profit organisations" linked
from here on the ATO web site, under "General Information":
Fundraising
- Tax basics for non-profit organisations
Note: These documents contain a lot of information because they cover a wide range of possible circumstances, so don't be put off by the size. You don't have to digest the whole thing and can fairly quickly establish those areas relevant to your Rotary Club. The other information there can also be useful to discern the difference between one set of circumstances and another. For example: you might find that it is interesting that service clubs are not charities by ATO definition, but that service clubs can qualify for income tax exemption.
Things have changed since 2000, and
EVERY CLUB is responsible for SELF ASSESSMENT !!!!!
regarding taxable or tax exempt status.
GiftPack, and the other packs,
can be viewed on-line via the above link, or the whole GiftPack
document downloaded as a PDF file there for you to
review at leisure. Especially note that in Appendix 4 of GiftPack
there is a simple annual checklist that your Board should
complete AND FILE for future reference, to confirm what your
situation is, in case you are asked to produce it later.
Your club could
also have an Australian
Business Number (ABN) from
the ATO.
The ABN will be of
the form: nn
nnn nnn nnn
and more info is on these useful pages
ATO Non-Profit Guide page: ( http://www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/ )
and the
ATO tax self assesssment page: ( ATO self assessment )
or contact your local ATO
office from the phone book.
If club turnover is less than the limit allowed for non-profit organisations, the club can register an ABN without being registered for Goods & Services Tax (GST), and this suits most Rotary clubs. See the useful ATO guides for the current level of turnover that differentiates the requirement for GST registration, and get some good advice about your situation.
Page Updated: 12 May 2008 E-mail comments, updates or suggestions to the .