Checklist · Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations
Screen against the Charities Act definition: not-for-profit, purpose, public benefit, disqualifying purpose
Screen that records the four requirements the ACNC states from the Charities Act 2013 (Cth) before registration is advised. It does not define a disqualifying purpose, because that page was not opened.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when testing whether an organisation's objects are only charitable and for the public benefit, including before an advocacy policy is settled. The ACNC decides registration.
Used for these tasks
- Build a charitable-purpose and public-benefit table
- Draft an advocacy policy against the charity-political-activity line
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may list objects from the constitution against the four requirements. It must not say the organisation is a charity or that an advocacy clause is lawful.
AI may
- Copy each object from the constitution into the table
- Flag an object the lawyer has marked as possibly ancillary
- Leave the disqualifying-purpose row blank
AI must not
- Must not state that a purpose is charitable or for the public benefit
- Must not describe what a disqualifying purpose is
- Must not draft the advocacy policy as if this screen had approved it
The lawyer checks
- Every object is either a charitable purpose or recorded as incidental or ancillary, in the sense the page uses: it furthers or aids the charitable purposes
- The charitable purpose and public benefit guidance pages are read before the screen is used for advice. They were not opened
- The disqualifying-purpose row is completed only after the Charities Act provision is read
- TR 2011/4 is not treated as binding on the ACNC. The page says the ACNC will have regard to it
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is available after you log in. It is free. When you log in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations
- Charity size and the ACNC financial report that follows from it
- Conflict of interest policy for a registered charity (adapted from the ACNC template)
- Notice of annual or special general meeting of an incorporated association, with agenda and special resolution (NSW)
- Section 501(c)(3) conflict of interest policy
- Diary for notifying the ACNC of changes to charity details
- Board or committee resolution approving the ACNC Annual Information Statement and annual financial report, with reporting checklist
- Constitution for a charitable company limited by guarantee (ACNC templates): selection and adaptation guide
- Nonprofit board minutes checklist
- Gift fund compliance checklist for a deductible gift recipient (fund, authority or institution)
- External Conduct Standards file for a charity operating outside Australia
- Model constitution for NSW incorporated associations: adoption and review guide
- Section 501(c)(3) organizing document checklist
- Minutes of the annual general meeting of an incorporated association, with elections and special resolution record (NSW)
- Letter of appointment for Responsible People (board members), with AI oversight paragraph (adapted from the ACNC template)
- Responsible Person suitability record under ACNC Governance Standard 4
- Section 501(c)(3) operational limits checklist
- Charity board AI governance and acceptable use policy
- Donor and supporter privacy collection notice (including AI profiling and personalised fundraising)
All precedents for Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations · Tasks and AI use in this area