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1 What is DGR

2 Are you eligible

3 DGR categories

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DGR Tool

Justice Connect’s Not-for-profit Law

To use this tool, you must agree to our disclaimer and privacy policy.

This tool is only permitted for use by not-for-profit organisations for non-commercial purposes, or as otherwise permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). All other rights are reserved. The content is legal information only and not legal advice. The content of this tool was last reviewed in January 2024.

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Now we'll guide you through:

What is DGR status and how could it benefit your not-for-profit?

We’ll explore what DGR status is, and how it can help your not-for-profit raise vital funds.

Is your organisation eligible to apply?

Later

Our tool will ask you a few simple questions to help you determine whether your not-for-profit meets the eligibility requirements for DGR endorsement.

What are the common DGR categories your organisation could apply under?

Later

Our tool will then ask you questions about your not-for-profit's activities or purposes to find out whether your organisation is likely to fit into one of the more common DGR categories.

What is DGR status?

Deductible gift recipient (DGR) endorsement is a special tax status that an organisation can get from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

People who make gifts or donations to a DGR may be able to ‘deduct’ those gifts from their own income for tax purposes, provided certain conditions are met (for example, that the amount is over $2 and is made for the DGR purpose), and DGRs may be eligible to receive funds from certain grant makers and philanthropic bodies that only fund DGRs.

Will your community organisation benefit from DGR status?

An organisation will benefit from being endorsed as a DGR if it:

already receives donations or gifts from the public
wants to start fundraising and receiving gifts from the public, or
wants to attract funds from the grant makers and philanthropic bodies that can only give funds to DGRs

DGR status is not always essential for not-for-profits to run successfully and not-for-profits can fundraise without being a DGR.

You can find out more information in our DGR guide.

Some types of organisations may not be eligible for DGR endorsement

Organisations including sporting clubs and associations, churches and peak bodies are generally not eligible for deductible gift recipient (DGR) endorsement because their purposes and activities don't fall into the general DGR categories.

If your organisation is a sporting club or association, church or peak body, you may want to contact the Australian Tax Office (ATO), the peak body for your sport, or if you think there are special circumstances about the nature of your organisation (for example, you also provide welfare services to vulnerable young people), apply for free legal help.

What are the requirements for an organisation to be endorsed as a DGR?

To be endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR), an organisation must:

be established and operating in Australia
have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
be not-for-profit
have acceptable rules for transferring surplus gifts and deductible contributions if the organisation or fund is wound up or its DGR status is revoked (these rules are normally in the organisation's governing document)
fall into a recognised general category of DGR or operate a fund or institution that falls within a recognised general category of DGR, under Australian tax law
in some cases, set up a public fund, and
in some cases, set up a gift fund

We will explain these requirements as we take you through this tool.

Registration with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

All non-government deductible gift recipient (DGR) categories require registration as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) before they can be endorsed as a DGR.

Search for your organisation’s name on the ACNC’s Charities Register to confirm whether your organisation is registered as a charity.

We'll guide you through:

What is DGR status and how could it benefit your not-for-profit?

Completed

We’ll explore what DGR status is, and how it can help your not-for-profit raise vital funds.

Is your organisation eligible to apply?

Our tool will ask you a few simple questions to help you determine whether your not-for-profit meets the eligibility requirements for DGR endorsement.

What are the common DGR categories your organisation could apply under?

Later

Our tool will then ask you questions about your not-for-profit's activities or purposes to find out whether your organisation is likely to fit into one of the more common DGR categories.

Basic eligibility – ‘in Australia’

To meet the ‘in Australia’ requirement, your organisation (if it is endorsed as a whole), or the fund or institution that it operates, must be established and operating in Australia.

This means:

the organisation, fund or institution must be established and legally recognised in Australia, and
operational or strategic decisions relating to the organisation, fund or institution are made mainly in Australia

For more information on the ‘in Australia’ requirement, see the ATO website.

Is your organisation (or the fund or institution it operates) in Australia?*

Yes

Basic eligibility – ‘in Australia’

You will need to take further steps to meet the 'in Australia' requirement.

Remember, your organisation will also need to meet the other basic eligibility requirements - that is your organisation must:

have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
be not-for-profit, and
have acceptable rules for transferring surplus gifts and deductible contributions if the organisation or fund is wound up or its DGR status is revoked (these rules are normally in the organisation's governing document)

For more information, see our free resources on starting a not-for-profit organisation and registering as a charity with the ACNC.

You can also apply for free legal help with our Not-for-profit Law team to find out if you may be eligible for legal assistance.

What would you like to do now?

What would you like to do now?*

continue working through the DGR tool to explore the DGR categories

exit the DGR tool now

Basic eligibility – Australian business number

Does your organisation have an Australian Business Number (ABN)?*

Yes

Search for your organisation’s name on the Australian Business Register (ABR) using the ABN Lookup Tool to confirm whether your organisation has an ABN.

Basic eligibility – Australian business number

While your organisation is not eligible for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status without an ABN, obtaining an ABN is generally a fairly simple process.

Remember, your organisation will also need to meet the other basic eligibility requirements - that is, your organisation must:

be established and operating in Australia
be not-for-profit, and
have acceptable rules for transferring surplus gifts and deductible contributions if the organisation or fund is wound up or its DGR status is revoked (these rules are normally found in the organisation's governing document)

For more information, see our free resources on starting a not-for-profit organisation and registering as a charity with the ACNC.

You can also apply for free legal help from our Not-for-profit Law team to find out if you may be eligible for legal assistance.

What would you like to do now?*

continue working through the DGR tool to explore the DGR categories

exit the DGR tool now

Basic eligibility – not-for-profit

To meet this requirement, your organisation’s governing document (rules, constitution or trust deed) must provide that:

the organisation’s assets and income are used solely to further the organisation’s purposes, and
payments or benefits are not given to members or other people related to the organisation (other than as reimbursement for services they have provided or for reasonable expenses they have incurred on behalf of the organisation)

Being a not-for-profit means that when the organisation makes a profit, it can’t distribute that money to its members, and must use that surplus to further the organisation’s purposes. For more information, see our free resource on what not-for-profit means.

Is your organisation a not-for-profit organisation?*

Yes

Basic eligibility – not-for-profit

Remember, your organisation will also need to meet other basic eligibility requirements - that is your organisation must:

be established and operating in Australia
have an Australian Business Number (ABN), and
have acceptable rules for transferring surplus gifts and deductible contributions if the organisation is wound up or its DGR status is revoked (these rules are normally in the organisation's governing document)

For more information, see our free resources on starting a not-for-profit organisation and registering as a charity with the ACNC.

You can also apply for free legal help from our Not-for-profit Law team to find out if you may be eligible for legal assistance.

What would you like to do now?*

continue working through the DGR tool to explore the DGR categories

exit the DGR tool now

Basic eligibility – an appropriate winding up and revocation clause

Most organisations have a winding up clause in their rules stating where the organisation’s funds will go if the organisation ends (if, for example, it is wound up or deregistered).

To be eligible to apply for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, your organisation’s governing document (rules, constitution or trust deed) must have the right wording for the transfer of surplus gifts and deductible contributions if the organisation is wound up or if its DGR status is revoked.

What is an acceptable DGR winding up or revocation clause?

An acceptable DGR winding up or revocation clause will state that, on the winding up of the organisation, or in the event that DGR endorsement is revoked, any surplus funds or assets of the organisation will be provided to another DGR entity generally in the same DGR category. If the organisation is a registered charity, the transfer must be to another DGR that is charitable. There may be a separate winding up or revocation clause in relation to the public fund or gift fund as relevant.

The ATO website has further information on DGR winding up and revocation clauses including the following sample DGR revocation and winding up clause:

If the organisation is wound up or its endorsement as a deductible gift recipient is revoked (whichever occurs first), any surplus of the following assets shall be transferred to another organisation to which income tax deductible gifts can be made:

gifts of money or property for the principal purpose of the organisation
contributions made in relation to an eligible fundraising event held for the principal purpose of the organisation
money received by the organisation because of such gifts and contributions

Please note, the example clause above only covers gifts, deductible contributions and money received by the organisation because of such gifts and contributions.

This means your governing document will need additional wording to cover what happens to other surplus assets if your organisation winds up.

Your organisation may wish to use the sample cause above and have a separate winding up clause that covers other surplus assets.

Alternatively, your organisation may wish to insert a clause requiring all surplus assets to be transferred to another DGR if the organisation is wound up and a separate clause requiring gifts, deductible contributions and money received because of such gifts and contributions to be transferred to another DGR in the event of revocation of DGR endorsement.

You should seek legal advice before deciding what to do.

If the organisation is a charity, the winding-up clause and DGR revocation clause should also state that the assets will be transferred to another charity.

Does your organisation have an appropriate winding up and revocation clause?*

Yes

Basic eligibility – an appropriate winding up and revocation clause

While your organisation is not eligible for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status without this clause, your organisation's governing document (rules, constitution or trust deed) can be amended to include this wording. Your organisation will not be eligible to apply for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status without meeting this requirement.

Remember, your organisation will also need to meet the other basic eligibility requirements - that is, your organisation must:

be established and operating in Australia
have an Australian Business Number (ABN), and
be not-for-profit

For more information, see our free resources on starting a not-for-profit organisation and registering as a charity with the ACNC.

You can also apply for free legal help from our Not-for-profit Law team to find out if you may be eligible for legal assistance.

What would you like to do now?*

continue working through the DGR tool to explore the DGR categories

exit the DGR tool now

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Ineligible - Exit no report

Yes

Thank you for using our DGR Tool.

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Your organisation is eligible to apply

From the answers you have given, it appears that your organisation is likely to meet the basic eligibility requirements to apply for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status.

What does DGR status mean for your organisation?

DGR status is a special Commonwealth tax status that an organisation can apply for.
If your organisation is granted DGR status, it means that people who make donations over $2 to your organisation for the particular DGR purpose are able to ‘deduct’ those gifts for their own income tax purposes (that is, the donor can claim the donation as a deduction when filing their personal income tax return), which then means people may be more willing to donate to your organisation.
Also, certain grant makers and philanthropic bodies may only give money to organisations that have DGR status.
You can refer to our DGR guide for more information.

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Eligible

Yes

Hidden

Not eligible but continue reviewing categories

Yes

Hidden

Review categories

Yes

Now we'll guide you through:

What is DGR status and how could it benefit your not-for-profit?

Complete

We’ll explore what DGR status is, and how it can help your not-for-profit raise vital funds.

Is your organisation eligible to apply?

Complete

Our tool will ask you a few simple questions to help you determine whether your not-for-profit meets the eligibility requirements for DGR endorsement.

What are the common DGR categories your organisation could apply under?

Our tool will then ask you questions about your not-for-profit's activities or purposes to find out whether your organisation is likely to fit into one of the more common DGR categories.

Deductible gift recipient categories

There are more than 50 deductible gift recipient (DGR) categories. You can see the full list on the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

Your organisation (or a fund or institution that it operates) must fit into one of these DGR categories to obtain DGR status.

This tool does not consider all possible DGR categories. This tool considers some of the most common DGR categories.

The description or word that most closely aligns with your organisation’s activities or purposes

From the list of options below, please select the description or word that most closely aligns with your organisation's activities or purposes:

Categories of DGR organisations*

promotion of the arts, movable cultural heritage or Indigenous languages (excluding public art galleries, museums and libraries)

community sheds

animals

environment

people

none of these

You have indicated that the description ‘promotion of the arts, movable cultural heritage or Indigenous languages’ most closely aligns with your organisation’s activities.

Which of the following options most closely describes the main objective of your organisation:*

promotion of the arts (this includes the arts, Indigenous languages and general cultural life and may include choirs, dance organisations, festivals, theatre organisations and art exhibition venues)

the preservation and promotion of Indigenous culture (where the people assisted by the organisation are ‘people in need’)

The cultural organisations category

The cultural organisations category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A cultural organisation is an organisation whose principal purpose is to promote literature, visual arts, music, performing arts, arts or languages of Indigenous persons, crafts, design, film, video, radio, community arts, television or movable cultural heritage.

This category may include choirs, dance organisations, festivals, theatre organisations and art exhibition venues, however it would exclude public art galleries, museums and libraries as these come under a different category.

Cultural associations, like specific ethnic associations or clubs, may have difficulty getting DGR endorsement if they don’t promote an aspect of the arts specifically (like literature or film).

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be an institution or Australian government agency
promote at least one of the following – literature, music, a performing art, a visual art, a craft, design, film, video, television, radio, community arts, Indigenous arts or languages or movable cultural heritage
be registered as a charity with the ACNC, unless it is an Australian government agency, and
maintain a gift fund

Note

An institution has its own distinct identity and actively undertakes activities to achieve its purpose (or, if it is a new organisation, has concrete plans for doing so in the near future). An institution must do more than merely hold and distribute funds. They usually carry out activities or provide services directly or collaborate with other charitable organisations (such as in the case of fundraising institutions).

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the cultural organisations category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for the DGR endorsement of cultural organisations is transferred from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications to the ATO, and
a cultural organisation is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

The community sheds category

The community sheds category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be registered as a charity with the ACNC
be a public institution
have the dominant purpose of advancing mental health and preventing or relieving social isolation(while community sheds may conduct a range of activities, for the purposes of this DGR category, the activities must support the dominant purposes of advancing mental health and preventing or alleviating social isolation)
include this dominant purpose in your organisation’s governing document (your rules, constitution or trust deed)
seek to achieve those purposes principally by providing a physical location (your ‘shed’) where the organisation supports people to undertake activities, or work on projects, in the company of others, and
have open membership (ie. there is no particular criteria for membership for your organisation), or membership that is open to people of a particular gender or with Indigenous heritage, or both

Note - public institution

'Institutions' have their own distinct identity and actively undertake activities to achieve their purpose (or, if it is a new organisation, has concrete plans for doing so in the near future). An institution must do more than merely hold and distribute funds. Institutions usually carry out activities or provide services directly or collaborate with other charitable organisations (such as in the case of fundraising institutions).

For an institution to be a public institution it must be open to the public (or a sufficient section of the community) and not be carried on for private profit or gain.

Note - dominant purpose

Your organisation must show that it has the dominant purposes of advancing mental health and preventing or relieving social isolation. Any other purpose must either assist in fulfilling the dominant purposes or be incidental to the dominant purpose.

Your organisation then needs to be able to demonstrate the way that it organisation is supporting its dominant purposes.

For example, it could demonstrate that it is advancing mental health by helping members access assistance or information, or by inviting guest speakers to talk on mental health issues.

The purpose of addressing social isolation could be demonstrated by the community shed welcoming a broad range of people to join in its activities, or by actively promoting social connection.

Community sheds may have open membership (meaning that there is no particular criteria for membership for your organisation) or membership that is open to people of a particular gender, with Indigenous heritage or both. This means community sheds may include men’s sheds, women’s sheds, Indigenous peoples’ sheds, Indigenous men’s sheds or Indigenous women’s sheds.

Organisations that are unlikely to be eligible under this category are organisations that are for people of a particular age, for ex-service personnel or for organisations that don’t have physical premises.

Tip

If your governing document allows the committee to refuse a membership application for any reason, this may make it hard for your application to succeed (it won't satisfy the ‘open’ membership requirement). To meet the open membership requirement, your governing document must have a policy and process in place that clearly demonstrates all new members are nominated and approved without exception.

Charity registration and DGR application

If your organisation is not yet a registered charity and wants to apply for DGR status under this category, it can:

apply to become a registered charity through the ACNC website, and
nominate through the charity registration process that it wishes to also seek DGR endorsement

The relevant information will then be sent to the ATO which will assess the organisation for DGR endorsement.

If your organisation is already a registered charity and wants to apply for DGR status under this category, it can lodge an application for DGR endorsement through the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

For more information about the community sheds category see:

the ATO guidance on this category

You have indicated that the description ‘animals’ most closely aligns with your organisation’s activities.

Which of the following options most closely describes the main objective of your organisation:*

my organisation primarily assists animals that have owners

my organisation primarily assists native wildlife

my organisation primarily assists a combination of both native and non-native wildlife (including animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners)

The animal welfare charity category

The animal welfare charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

The animal welfare charity category helps organisations that protect and care for animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners to access deductible gift recipient (DGR) endorsement and attract funding.

The meaning of animal for this category is broad and includes land animals, reptiles, birds, fish and other aquatic animals.

This category excludes a standard veterinary clinic that assists animals that have owners.

But organisations with a principal activity of advocating for better treatment of animals generally or advocating for vegan lifestyles would be unlikely to be eligible under this category.

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be a registered charity with the ACNC
conduct activities that are not limited to native wildlife, and
as its principal activity, provide short-term direct care to animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners, or rehabilitate orphaned, sick or injured animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners

Note

The principal activity is the main activity conducted by the organisation. Determining the principal activity includes considering factors such as the involvement of staff and volunteers, the number and type of services provided, costs, and the use of facilities and resources. For example, if a charity has four activities that take up 10% of its time and resources (each) and a fifth activity that takes up 60% of its time and resources, the fifth activity will be considered its ‘principal activity’.

The organisation can still provide veterinary services for pets and working animals, promote the prevention of cruelty to animals and operate boarding kennels, if these are secondary activities.

Examples of activities that may be short-term direct care include:

veterinary services for animals' injuries and illnesses
recovery, first aid and transport of injured animals
washing and grooming lost animals and ridding them of fleas and ticks
feeding and sheltering animals in the short term while their owners are contacted or new homes are found

If animals are not recovering from injury or sickness and are not in need of rehabilitation, ongoing care for them will not qualify.

Charity registration and DGR application

If your organisation is not yet a registered charity and wants to apply for DGR status under this category, it can:

apply to become a registered charity through the ACNC website, and
nominate through the charity registration process that it wishes to also seek DGR endorsement

The relevant information will then be sent to the ATO which will assess the organisation for DGR endorsement.

Your organisation will also be required to submit a prescribed schedule with your application.

For more information about the animal welfare charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category

The environmental organisations category

The environmental organisations category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

An environmental organisation is an organisation with the principal purpose of protecting or enhancing the natural environment.

Organisations under this category include those involved in land, wildlife and rainforest conservation. The activities underlying an environmental organisation's principal purpose must relate to the natural environment as distinct from other types of environments.

Examples of organisations in this category include those established to:

promote rainforest conservation
provide education on climate change
promote awareness of an endangered species
work with volunteers to deliver a cleaner environment, and
conserve native wildlife in a particular region

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be an institution or an Australian government agency
have a principal purpose of either – protecting and enhancing the natural environment or a significant aspect of the natural environment, or providing information or education, or carrying out research about the natural environment or a significant aspect of the natural environment
be registered as a charity with the ACNC, unless it is a Australian government agency
maintain a gift fund, and
have a policy of not acting as a mere conduit for the donation of money or property to other organisations, bodies or persons

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the environmental organisations category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for DGR endorsement of environmental organisations transferrred from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to the ATO, and
an environmental organisation is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

People

You have indicated that the word ‘people’ most closely aligns with your organisation’s activities or purposes.

The following note is relevant to the next question.

Note

The primary (or main) purpose of an organisation is its sole purpose. If your organisation has more than one purpose, it means your predominant purpose. The purposes are stated in your governing document (your rules, constitution, or trust deed).

Which of the following options most closely describes what your organisation does?*

promotes the prevention or control of diseases (disease includes physical and mental illness, but it is required to be something more than a general health condition or symptom)

assists with the welfare of people (this includes one or more of the following – the relief of poverty, sickness, disability, destitution, suffering, misfortune or helplessness, or the prevention or control of behaviour that is harmful or abusive to people)

none of these

Health promotion

You have indicated that that your organisation is involved in promoting the prevention or control of diseases in human beings.

The following notes are relevant to the next question.

Note

Disease includes physical and mental illness, but it is required to be something more than a general health condition or symptom.

Note

An organisation’s principal activity is the main activity it conducts or the activity it conducts more than any other.

Is the promotion of the prevention or control of diseases in human beings the principal activity of your organisation?*

Yes

Welfare

Please indicate whether your organisation has:*

the dominant purpose of assisting people in their welfare

a different dominant purpose, but assisting people facing some degree of poverty is part of what the organisation does

none of these

Welfare

You have indicated that your organisation’s primary purpose or activity is assisting people in their welfare.

Does your organisation:*

provide for one or more of the following – the relief of poverty, sickness, disability, destitution, suffering, misfortune or helplessness

assist Indigenous people

promote the prevention or control of behaviour that is harmful or abusive to people

none of these

The public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category

The public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A necessitous circumstances fund is a public fund established and maintained for the relief of people in Australia who are in ‘necessitous’ circumstances.

Note

A public fund is established to hold and distribute money without carrying out charitable activities (it doesn’t conduct activities). The public is invited to contribute to the fund and it must be overseen by a committee made up of a majority of people who have a degree of responsibility to the community (such as a school principal, doctor or solicitor). Some deductible gift recipient (DGR) categories require organisations to establish a public fund to receive tax deductible gifts and contributions. A separate bank account and clear accounting procedures are required for public funds.

Note

The term 'necessitous circumstances' refers to financial necessity.

A person is in necessitous circumstances if they don't have enough financial resources to have a modest standard of living in Australia. An indicator of this would be where a person's level of income is such that they are eligible to receive income-tested government benefits. Some needs (such as sickness or disability) are non-financial but can cause financial need and therefore may fall within this category.

Necessitous circumstances don’t extend to needs generally - for example, being sick, incapacitated or aged are not necessitous circumstances on their own. Furthermore, the circumstances giving rise to financial necessity don’t need to be permanent. For example, tropical cyclones, floods and other disasters can cause people to be in short-term financial need.

The necessitous circumstances fund distributes goods or money to people who don’t have the financial resources for all necessities.

Example

Andy was 16 years old when he jumped from a pier at the beach and was permanently incapacitated. He will need full time care for the rest of his life. Andy had no insurance and his parents can’t meet the costs of his care. The local community sets up a fund and raises money to pay for necessary modifications to Andy’s home and for the services of a carer. The fund is a necessitous circumstances fund.

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation must:

be a public fund
provide relief to persons located in Australia
not provide benefits to persons who are not in necessitous circumstances, and
be registered as a charity with the ACNC

Your organisation can lodge an application for DGR endorsement through the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

For more information about the public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category see:

the ATO webpage on this category

The health promotion charity category

The health promotion charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A health promotion charity is a charity with the principal activity of promoting the prevention or control of diseases in human beings.

A health promotion charity can undertake other activities but promoting the prevention or control of disease in human beings must be its main activity. It’s usually not enough to be a health-related charity or to promote ‘health’ or ‘wellbeing’ generally.

‘Disease’ includes physical and mental illness, but it is required to be something more than a health condition or symptom. Your organisation must specify the disease or diseases that will be prevented or controlled through its principal activity.

Note

Charities in this category are not required to have the charitable purpose of advancing health. For example, a charity with the purpose of advancing education about a disease can be a health promotion charity.

This category is likely to include charities involved in:

raising awareness about a disease, its causes and measures that can be taken to guard against contracting it (such as immunising against it)
acting to reduce the spread of a disease
researching the management and treatment of diseases
managing and treating diseases, and
acting to alleviate the suffering or distress caused by a disease

Activities that are unlikely to fall into this category include organisations that:

promote healthy lifestyles (for example, the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise), or
promote a particular type of exercise due to its general health benefits.

Note

This category is narrower than the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) category for registered charities with ‘the purpose of advancing health’ as the ACNC category includes organisations that aim to improve general health.

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be a registered charity under the 'health promotion charity' subtype
be an institution, and
promote the prevention or the control of disease in human beings as the organisation’s principal activity

Note

An institution must have its own distinct identity and actively undertake activities to achieve its purpose (or, if it is a new organisation, has concrete plans for doing so in the near future). An institution must do more than merely hold and distribute funds. They usually carry out activities or provide services directly or collaborate with other charitable organisations (such as in the case of fundraising institutions).

Note

The principal activity is the main activity conducted by the charity, or the activity that it conducts more than any other. A health promotion charity can undertake other activities, but promoting the prevention or control of disease in human beings must be its main activity. For example, if a charity has four activities that take up 10% of its time and resources (each) and a fifth activity that takes up 60% of its time and resources, the fifth activity will be considered its ‘principal activity’.

Charity registration and DGR application

If your organisation wishes to apply for DGR status under this category, it can apply to become a registered charity through the ACNC website and nominate through the charity registration process that it wishes to seek this DGR endorsement. The ATO will accept that an organisation is a health promotion charity if it is registered by the ACNC as a health promotion charity.

For more information about the health promotion charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
the ACNC’s fact sheet ‘What is a health promotion charity?’
the ACNC Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement: Health Promotion Charities

Harm prevention charity category

The harm prevention charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A harm prevention charity is a registered charity whose principle activity is promoting the prevention or control of ‘behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings’.

Harmful or abusive behaviour is defined to mean emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, substance abuse, self-harm, suicide or harmful gambling.

A harm prevention charity can provide direct support through counselling or workshops, or indirect support through community education and awareness-raising. The principal activity must directly contribute to the promotion, prevention or control of ‘behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings’.

Examples of this category include:

an organisation established for suicide prevention
an organisation founded to educate school students on the prevention of emotional abuse and physical abuse
a charity that delivers education programs designed to prevent harmful gambling

Activities that are indirect or too removed or unrelated to the harmful behaviour may not qualify for DGR status under this category.

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation must:

be an institution
be registered as a charity with the ACNC
have promoting the prevention or control of human behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings as your organisation’s principal activity
maintain a gift fund, and
have a policy of not acting as a mere conduit for the donation of money or property to other organisations, bodies or persons

Note

The principal activity is the main activity conducted by the charity, or the activity that it conducts more than any other.

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the harm prevention charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for DGR endrosement of the harm prevention charities transferred from the Department of Social Services to the ATO, and
a harm prevention charity is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

The public benevolent institution category

The public benevolent institution (PBI) category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

Don’t get put off by the language here – it's old fashioned. It may not fit well with the language you prefer to use. For example, the people your organisation helps might not like to be talked about as ‘sufferers’ or being ‘helpless’, but for the purpose of working out your organisation’s eligibility for DGR status, we must use this language.

Note

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is responsible for determining PBI status. If an organisation is registered by the ACNC as a PBI, it can apply to the ATO and may be endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR) for tax purposes.

A PBI is a registered charity with the dominant purpose of providing benevolent relief to people in need.

Benevolent relief includes the relief of poverty, sickness, destitution or helplessness. Providing benevolent relief means that your organisation provides targeted relief for people suffering or in distress. The ACNC recognises the situation of Australia’s Indigenous peoples and their disadvantage. It therefore may recognise an organisation with the purpose of addressing Indigenous disadvantage as being a PBI, along with organisations that seek to promote and protect indigenous culture.

Examples in this category may include:

disability support services
some not-for-profit homes for the aged
housing bodies that provide low rental or subsidised accommodation to underprivileged persons affected by poverty, sickness or disability

The ‘public’ element

If your organisation assists a person rather than a section of the community who need assistance (‘people in need’), then it can’t demonstrate the ‘public’ element required of a public benevolent institution. Here, your organisation may wish to find out more about the ‘necessitous circumstances fund’ category for DGR.

Alternatively, where the purpose of your organisation is to benefit the community as a whole, then this may be considered to be too general for the PBI category.

Note

Your organisation must be able to show that it’s helping people who have a need that is significant enough to arouse the compassion of people in the community and that goes beyond the suffering experienced as part of the ordinary human experience.

Failure, loss of status or reputation and even bereavement are not considered to be serious enough to require benevolent relief, but a parent losing a child may be eligible.

All the organisation’s purposes as set out in its governing documents need to be directed to providing the benevolent relief, and the relief must be specifically targeted to the people who are in need rather than directed at the community more generally.

In addition, the group who is suffering must be clearly identified in your organisation’s purposes, and the support must be provided for the issue that they are suffering from.

For fundraising organisations seeking PBI endorsement, the organisation can provide the relief by, or in coordination with, another organisation and is not required to provide the relief itself.

Fundraising

An organisation whose main activity is fundraising can be registered as a PBI if it can demonstrate:

clear objects of benevolent relief – the group receiving the relief must be recognisably in need, and the relief must be specifically targeted to the people who are in need rather than directed at the community more generally
clear mechanisms for delivering the benevolent relief – for fundraising institutions, there must be a clear path to delivery of the relief for which the funds are raised
a relationship of collaboration or a common public benevolent purpose – the fact that fundraising organisations raise funds for other organisations and don’t provide the relief themselves would not be a barrier to becoming a PBI provided there is a clear relationship of collaboration between the organisation raising the funds and the organisation delivering the aid

Organisations that seek to provide general advice, information or services to the whole or part of a community are unlikely to be considered PBIs.

Operating overseas

If your organisation provides development or humanitarian assistance activities overseas, you may wish to consider the overseas aid fund category. Under this category, it’s a requirement for eligibility that organisations implement these activities in one of the countries declared to be a 'developing' country.

Additionally, for organisations that conduct activities overseas, you should ensure that you comply with the External Conduct Standards (ECS). See the ACNC website for more information about the ECS.

Charity registration and DGR endorsement

A new charity may be eligible for PBI status if it can demonstrate that it has clear plans to operate in the foreseeable future or within one year of establishment. It can show this through the provision of a business, operational or strategic plan outlining what it proposes to do and how it proposes to execute the plan. It may also demonstrate its intention to operate through provision of an agreement with another party outlining how the organisations intend to work together to provide the relief.

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation must:

be an institution
provide benevolent relief to people in need (organisation must identify who is suffering and provide support for the issue that they are suffering from)
have providing benevolent relief to people in need as your organisation’s main purpose in its governing document, and
be a registered charity with the ACNC, with the charitable sub-type of ‘public benevolent institution’

Note

The main purpose of an organisation is its sole purpose or main purpose (as stated in its governing document).

To apply to become a PBI with the ACNC, follow the application instructions through the ACNC charity portal.

For more information about the PBI category see:

the ACNC’s fact sheet ‘What is a public benevolent institution?’
the ACNC Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement: Public Benevolent Institutions

Common deductible gift recipient categories

This tool covers the most common deductible gift recipient (DGR) categories.

Your organisation does not appear to fall into one of the DGR categories covered by this tool.

A less common category may be relevant to your organisation.

For information on all available categories, see the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

For general information on DGR endorsement, see our free DGR guide.

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Basic eligibility requirements

It appears that your organisation meets the basic eligibility requirements to apply for DGR status.

This means that your organisation is an Australian not-for-profit organisation with an Australian business number and an appropriate DGR winding up clause in its governing document (rules, constitution or trust deed).

Basic eligibility requirements

Your organisation does not appear to meet the basic eligibility requirements to apply for DGR status.

To be eligible, your organisation must be an Australian not-for-profit organisation with an Australian business number and an appropriate DGR winding up and revocation clause in its governing document (rules, constitution or trust deed).

While this report may identify a DGR category relevant to your organisation, your organisation will need to meet the eligibility requirements set out above before you can obtain DGR status.

Common deductible gift recipient categories

This tool covers some of the more common deductible gift recipient (DGR) categories.

Your organisation does not appear to fall into one of the DGR categories covered by this tool.

A less common category may be relevant to your organisation.

For information on all available categories, see the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

For general information on DGR endorsement, see our free DGR guide.

The cultural organisations category

The cultural organisations category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

Cultural associations, like specific ethnic associations or clubs, may have difficulty getting DGR endorsement if they don’t promote an aspect of the arts specifically (like literature, or film).

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be an institution or Australian government agency
promote at least one of the following – literature, music, a performing art, a visual art, a craft, design, film, video, television, radio, community arts, Indigenous arts or languages or movable cultural heritage
be registered as a charity with the ACNC, unless it is an Australian government agency, and
maintain a gift fund

Note

An institution has its own distinct identity and actively undertakes activities to achieve its purpose (or, if it is a new organisation, has concrete plans for doing so in the near future).  An institution must do more than merely hold and distribute funds. They usually carry out activities or provide services directly or collaborate with other charitable organisations (such as in the case of fundraising institutions).

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the environmental organisations category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for the DGR endorsement of cultural organisations transferred from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications to the ATO, and
a cultural organisation is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

Note: The information in Justice Connect’s DGR Tool is not legal advice. You might need legal advice on your organisation’s particular situation. This tool may only be used by not-for-profit organisations for non-commercial purposes. The report produced by this tool is based on the answers you have provided and Justice Connect hasn’t considered your organisation’s particular legal structure, needs or operations. You should seek legal advice if you are not sure whether your organisation would qualify for DGR status.

The community sheds category

The community sheds category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be registered as a charity with the ACNC
be a public institution
have the dominant purpose of advancing mental health and preventing or relieving social isolation (while community sheds may conduct a range of activities, for the purposes of this DGR category, the activities must support the dominant purposes of advancing mental health and preventing or alleviating social isolation)
include this dominant purpose in your organisation’s governing document (your rules, constitution or trust deed)
seek to achieve those purposes principally by providing a physical location (your ‘shed’) where the organisation supports people to undertake activities, or work on projects, in the company of others, and
have open membership (ie. there is no particular criteria for membership for your organisation) or membership that is open to people of a particular gender or with Indigenous heritage, or both.

Note - public institution

For an institution to be a public institution it must be open to the public (or a sufficient section of the community) and not be carried on for private profit or gain.

Note - dominant purpose

Your organisation then needs to be able to demonstrate the way that it organisation is supporting its dominant purposes.

For example, it could demonstrate that it is advancing mental health by helping members access assistance or information, or by inviting guest speakers to talk on mental health issues.

The purpose of addressing social isolation could be demonstrated by the community shed welcoming a broad range of people to join in its activities, or by actively promoting social connection.

Tip

Charity registration and DGR application

If your organisation is not yet a registered charity and wants to apply for DGR status under this category, it can:

apply to become a registered charity through the ACNC website, and
nominate through the charity registration process that it wishes to also seek DGR endorsement

The relevant information will then be sent to the ATO which will assess the organisation for DGR endorsement.

For more information about the community sheds category see:

the ATO guidance on this category

The animal welfare charity category

The animal welfare charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

The meaning of animal for this category is broad and includes land animals, reptiles, birds, fish and other aquatic animals.

This category excludes a standard veterinary clinic that assists animals that have owners.

But organisations with a principal activity of advocating for better treatment of animals generally or advocating for vegan lifestyles would be unlikely to be eligible under this category.

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be a registered charity with the ACNC
conduct activities that are not limited to native wildlife, and
as its principal activity, provide short-term direct care to animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners, or rehabilitate orphaned, sick or injured animals that have been lost, mistreated or are without owners

Note

The organisation can still provide veterinary services for pets and working animals, promote the prevention of cruelty to animals and operate boarding kennels, if these are secondary activities.

Examples of activities that may be short-term direct care include:

veterinary services for animals' injuries and illnesses
recovery, first aid and transport of injured animals,
washing and grooming lost animals and ridding them of fleas and ticks
feeding and sheltering animals in the short term while their owners are contacted or new homes are found

If animals are not recovering from injury or sickness and are not in need of rehabilitation, ongoing care for them will not qualify.

Charity registration and DGR application

If your organisation is not yet a registered charity and wants to apply for DGR status under this category, it can:

apply to become a registered charity through the ACNC website, and
nominate through the charity registration process that it wishes to also seek DGR endorsement

The relevant information will then be sent to the ATO which will assess the organisation for DGR endorsement.

Your organisation will also be required to submit a prescribed schedule with your application.

For more information about the animal welfare charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category

The environmental organisations category

The environmental organisations category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

An environmental organisation is an organisation with the principal purpose of protecting or enhancing the natural environment.

Examples of organisations in this category include organisations or funds established to:

promote rainforest conservation
provide education on climate change
promote awareness of an endangered species
work with volunteers to deliver a cleaner environment, and
conserve native wildlife in a particular region

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be an institution or an Australian government agency
have a principal purpose of either – protecting and enhancing the natural environment or a significant aspect of the natural environment, or providing information or education or carrying research about the natural environment or a significant aspect of the natural environment
be registered as a charity with the ACNC, unless it is an Australian government agency
maintain a gift fund, and
have a policy of not acting as a mere conduit for the donation of money or property to other organisations, bodies or persons

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the environmental organisations category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for DGR endorsement of environmental organisations transferred from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to the ATO, and
an environmental organisation is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

Note: The information in Justice Connect’s DGR Tool is not legal advice. You might need legal advice on your organisation’s particular situation. This tool may only be used by not-for-profit organisations for non-commercial purposes. The report produced by this tool is based on the answers you have provided and Justice Connect hasn’t considered your organisation’s particular legal structure, needs or operations. You should seek legal advice if you are not sure whether your organisation would qualify for DGR status.

The public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category

The public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A necessitous circumstances fund is a public fund established and maintained for the relief of people in Australia who are in ‘necessitous’ circumstances.

Note

The term 'necessitous circumstances' refers to financial necessity.

The necessitous circumstances fund distributes goods or money to people who don’t have the financial resources for all necessities.

Example

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation must:

be a public fund
provide relief to persons located in Australia
not provide benefits to persons who are not in necessitous circumstances, and
be registered as a charity with the ACNC

Your organisation can lodge an application for DGR endorsement through the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website.

For more information about the public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances category see:

the ATO webpage on this category

The health promotion charity category

The health promotion charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A health promotion charity is a charity with the principal activity of promoting the prevention or control of diseases in human beings.

A health promotion charity can undertake other activities, but promoting the prevention or control of disease in human beings must be its main activity. It’s usually not enough to be a health-related charity or to promote ‘health’ or ‘wellbeing’ generally.

Note

This category is likely to include charities involved in:

raising awareness about a disease, its causes and measures that can be taken to guard against contracting it (such as immunising against it)
acting to reduce the spread of a disease
researching the management and treatment of diseases
managing and treating diseases, and
acting to alleviate the suffering or distress caused by a disease

Activities that are unlikely to fall into this category include organisations that:

promote healthy lifestyles (for example, the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise), or
promote a particular type of exercise due to its general health benefits

Note

To meet the requirements of this category, your organisation must:

be a registered charity under the 'health promotion charity' subtype
be an institution, and
promote the prevention or the control of disease in human beings as the organisation’s principal activity

Note

Charity registration and DGR application

For more information about the health promotion charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
the ACNC’s fact sheet ‘What is a health promotion charity?’
the ACNC Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement: Health Promotion Charities

The harm prevention charity category

The harm prevention charity category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

A harm prevention charity is a registered charity whose principal activity is promoting the prevention or control of ‘behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings’.

Harmful or abusive behaviour is defined to mean emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, substance abuse, self-harm, suicide or harmful gambling.

Examples of this category include:

an organisation established for suicide prevention
an organisation founded to educate school students on the prevention of emotional abuse and physical abuse
a charity that delivers education programs designed to prevent harmful gambling

Activities that are indirect or too removed or unrelated to the harmful behaviour may not qualify for DGR status under this category.

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation:

be an institution
be registered as a charity with the ACNC
have promoting the prevention or control of human behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings as your organisation’s principal activity,
maintain a gift fund, and
have a policy of not acting as a mere conduit for the donation of money or property to other organisations, bodies or persons

Note

The principal activity is the main activity conducted by the charity, or the activity that it conducts more than any other.

Note

A gift fund is a fund set up to hold tax deductible contributions of money or property.

For more information about the harm prevention charity category see:

the ATO webpage on this category
ATO guidance on the transitional arrangements that apply to this category

Note

Under new laws that apply from 1 January 2024:

responsibility for DGR endorsement of the administration of harm prevention charities transferred from the Department of Social Services to the ATO, and
a harm prevention charity is required to establish and maintain a gift fund instead of a public fund

The public benevolent institution category

The public benevolent institution (PBI) category appears to be a category relevant to your organisation.

Note

A PBI is a registered charity with the dominant purpose of providing benevolent relief to people in need.

Examples in this category may include:

disability support services
some not-for-profit homes for the aged
housing bodies that provide low rental or subsidised accommodation to underprivileged persons affected by poverty, sickness or disability

The ‘public’ element

Alternatively, where the purpose of your organisation is to benefit the community as a whole, then this may be considered to be too general for the PBI category.

Note

Your organisation must be able to show that it’s helping people who have a need that it is significant enough to arouse the compassion of people in the community and that goes beyond the suffering experienced as part of the ordinary human experience.

Failure, loss of status or reputation and even bereavement are not considered to be serious enough to require benevolent relief, but a parent losing a child may be eligible.

In addition, the group who is suffering must be clearly identified in your organisation’s purposes, and the support must be provided for the issue that they are suffering from.

For fundraising organisations seeking PBI endorsement, the organisation can provide the relief by, or in coordination with, another organisation and is not required to provide the relief itself.

Fundraising

An organisation whose main activity is fundraising can be registered as a PBI if it can demonstrate:

clear objects of benevolent relief – the group receiving the relief must be recognisably in need, and the relief must be specifically targeted to the people who are in need rather than directed at the community more generally
clear mechanisms for delivering the benevolent relief – for fundraising institutions, there must be a clear path to delivery of the relief for which the funds are raised
a relationship of collaboration or a common public benevolent purpose – the fact that fundraising organisations raise funds for other organisations and don’t provide the relief themselves would not be a barrier to becoming a PBI provided there is a clear relationship of collaboration between the organisation raising the funds and the organisation delivering the aid

Organisations that seek to provide general advice, information or services to the whole or part of a community are unlikely to be considered PBIs.

Operating overseas

Additionally, for organisations that conduct activities overseas, you should ensure that you comply with the External Conduct Standards (ECS). See the ACNC website for more information about the ECS.

Charity registration and DGR endorsement

To meet the requirements of this category your organisation must:

be an institution,
provide benevolent relief to people in need (organisation must identify who is suffering and provide support for the issue that they are suffering from)
have providing benevolent relief to people in need as your organisation’s main purpose in its governing document, and
be a registered charity with the ACNC, with the charitable sub-type of ‘public benevolent institution’

Note

The main purpose of an organisation is its sole purpose (as stated in its governing document).

To apply to become a PBI with the ACNC, follow the application instructions through the ACNC charity portal.

For more information about the PBI category see:

the ACNC’s fact sheet ‘What is a public benevolent institution?’
the ACNC Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement: Public Benevolent Institutions