Checklist · Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations
External Conduct Standards file for a charity operating outside Australia
File for the four ACNC External Conduct Standards, and for whether the charity operates outside Australia at all. It records the steps the charity has taken. It does not say the standards are met.
- 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 a charity sends funds or conducts any activities outside Australia, including a minor activity or a payment through a third party. Nothing is lodged with the ACNC unless the ACNC asks.
Used for these tasks
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 overseas payments and partner names from the accounts into the file. The lawyer decides whether the standards apply and whether the steps are enough.
AI may
- List overseas payments, countries and partner names from a ledger the lawyer identifies
- Match each payment to one of the four standards as a filing label, not as a conclusion
- Flag a country that has no record
AI must not
- Must not state that the External Conduct Standards are met
- Must not decide that an activity is too small to count
- Must not draft a policy and treat the draft as compliance
The lawyer checks
- Operate outside Australia is tested against the page, including minor activities and third parties
- Each of the four standards has a record, or a note that the detailed standard page is still to be read
- A Basic Religious Charity that operates outside Australia is not treated as exempt
- The detailed pages for each standard, and the page on when the standards do not apply, are read before any advice. They were not opened
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.
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