Who must comply with ACNC Governance Standards?

Six governance standards covering NFP purpose, accountability, compliance, suitability, duties and PBI requirements.

Division 45 of the ACNC Act sets six Governance Standards: (1) charity must be an NFP and pursue charitable purpose; (2) accountability to members; (3) compliance with Australian laws (criminal + civil penalty); (4) suitability of responsible persons; (5) duties of responsible persons (care/diligence, good faith, no improper use of position); (6) PBI requirements.

Applies when the business has ACNC registration.

How the regulator frames it: All ACNC-registered charities (limited transitional carve-outs for basic religious charities).

What triggers it: Being a registered charity.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (35 of 35: depends on size or structure).

The answer is the same in every industry: depends on size or structure. Industry does not change who must comply.

Size does not change the answer across all industries: at every size band the answer is "depends on size or structure".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Registered charity in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. ACNC-registered charity.
• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires ACNC registration.

When due

Continuous; self-attestation in AIS.

Frequency

Ongoing

Evidence to keep

Governing documents, member registry, conflicts register, responsible persons declarations.

Status

Current

Priority

Critical

Maximum penalty: Revocation of charity status; loss of DGR endorsement; tax concession recovery.

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

• ACNC charity revocations 2024 (2024): Charity status maintenance requires governance + AIS lodgement; revocation has significant tax consequences.
• ACNC charity revocations 2024 (round-up) (2024): Charity status requires governance + AIS lodgement; revocation has significant tax consequences.

If this obligation applies to you, so does this one: the engine uses the same rule for each.

• Lodge the ACNC Annual Information Statement

• PAF (Private Ancillary Fund) governance + minimum distributions: PAFs must distribute minimum 5% of net assets annually + comply with PAF Guidelines.
• Comply with ACNC External Conduct Standards (overseas activity): Charities operating or sending funds overseas must comply with four External Conduct Standards.
• Maintain DGR endorsement: Deductible Gift Recipients must keep meeting the requirements of their DGR category for as long as they are endorsed.
• Charity public fundraising — state authority cycle: Each state requires authorisation for public fundraising appeals.
• Maintain Basic Religious Charity status (ACNC) — limited carve-outs: Basic religious charities have limited ACNC governance carve-outs but still register.

Rules Mate tracks 9 published obligations tagged "charities", 3 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated critical priority, and is an ongoing duty.

Regulated by Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

ACNC: Federal charity regulator. Registers charities, administers governance and external conduct standards, and publishes the Charity Register.

• Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

ACNC Act: Federal charity regulator + registration regime.

• Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• NDIS provider readiness checker
• Aged Care Act 2024 readiness
• ACNC charity readiness scorer