Register as a charity

Registering as a charity allows an organisation to fundraise for a charitable purpose on an ongoing basis within Queensland.

You can appeal for support (usually by requesting money or goods) in many ways—in person, by phone, via advertising, through social media and by mail.

A charitable purpose can be when you supply any of the following to a person in distress:

• help
• aid
• relief
• support (including money or other financial support)
• care
• housing
• education
• instruction.

A person may be in distress because of:

• the death or disability of another person they depend on
• disease or sickness
• age
• physical or mental illness
• poverty
• unemployment
• a natural disaster or other emergency.

Eligibility

To register a charity, you must:

• have a constitution that sets out your charitable objectives and operating rules (if you have some objectives that are non-charitable, you need to apply to fundraise for a community purpose instead)
• be an association of 3 or more people (you don't have to be an incorporated association)
• have a ‘governing body’ that has control of the management of the association
• have a clause in your constitution that states you are not-for-profit (unless your membership consists only of charities).

You must use the charity’s income and property to promote its objectives. You must not:

• distribute it among members
• pay dividends to members (unless the members are charities).

Who doesn’t need to register

From 1 May 2023, organisations registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) don’t need to register as a charity in Queensland to fundraise.

Before you start fundraising in Queensland, you must submit an ACNC registration notification. Apply online—select Fair Trading Charity ACNC Registration Notification.

The following organisations can fundraise in Queensland without registering as a charity or completing an ACNC registration notification:

• recognised religious denominations
• parents and citizens associations
• hospital foundations.

Charitable fundraising appeals

Raising money, or receiving or soliciting benefits, from the public for a charitable purpose or to support an organisation with a charitable purpose is called a charitable fundraising appeal.

Partner with existing charity

If you are planning to start or hold a charitable fundraising appeal for a particular cause (e.g. to help after a disaster event) consider partnering with an existing registered charity that is already authorised to fundraise in Queensland. This is the fastest and easiest way to become legally ready to start promoting and collecting.

We keep a free public register that you can search online to see which organisations are allowed to fundraise in Queensland. You can find:

• the name of the organisation
• their registration number
• the postcode of their registered address.

Once you have chosen a charity, talk to them about how they will direct the funds towards your cause and to make arrangements if you both decide to proceed.

Fundraise without an existing charity partner

If you don’t want to partner with an existing charity, you will need to seek approval for a one-off charitable appeal.

As part of this process it is important that you consider:

• how the fundraising appeal will be conducted—will it be a raffle, selling of goods or an online fundraiser? Be aware there may be other government requirements involved (e.g. if you are conducting a raffle, you may need a permit from the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation)
• who the funds will be directed to—if there will be multiple beneficiaries, ensure you have a documented process for deciding who will be eligible
• who will have access to the bank account where the funds will be deposited or kept—ensure there is tight control over access and how the funds are distributed. You must keep proper records of all funds received and distributed
• what you will do if you raise more funds than are necessary—excess funds will need to be directed to another charitable purpose.

Applying for charity registration

You can download the form or apply online to register a charity—select Fair Trading Application for Associations and Non-profits.

When submitting your form, attach:

• your organisation’s constitution, certified as accurate by 2 members of the governing body
• the resolution or minutes from the meeting where the members or the governing body decided to register as a charity, certified as accurate by 2 members of the governing body
• a statement of your organisation’s financial affairs (and audited financial statements, if available)
• written approval from the central body (if your organisation is a branch or section of a larger organisation).

There is no fee to lodge your application.

We assess applications for registration and aim to process them within 4 to 6 weeks.