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Message from the Director
Charlotte Stanley
Director
Tēnā koutou katoa,
As we approach the end of 2025, it’s hard to believe how quickly the year has passed. I know it has been a challenging period for many charities, and I want to acknowledge the commitment so many of you have shown in meeting your legal obligations. Your dedication has enabled you to continue delivering the vital services and support that strengthen our communities every day.
It has also been a significant year for us at Charities Services—one that I am incredibly proud of. As I’ve said before, strong education and clear guidance are at the heart of good regulation. Our role is not only to ensure you understand your responsibilities but to equip you with the tools and clarity you need to meet them with confidence.
Over the past year, we’ve expanded our programme of webinars and community sessions, giving more opportunities to answer your questions directly and support you with practical information. We also introduced new step‑by‑step guides for Tier 3 and Tier 4 reporting to help ensure annual reports are clear, accurate, and easier to complete.
Our team has worked hard through a 20% increase in registration applications—an unprecedented volume. While this has created some backlog challenges that we are continuing to work through, we have assessed more applications this year than ever before.
We look ahead to another year of innovation and achievement—deepening public trust and confidence by delivering regulation that is robust, fair, and impactful.
Wishing you and your whānau a safe, restful, and happy holiday season.
Ngā mihi nui
Nā Charlotte Stanley
Director, Pou Whakahaere
Charities Services
Charities Registration Board updates
In our October newsletter, we farewelled outgoing Chair, Gwendoline Keel. We’re pleased to share that Jane Wrightson is now Chair of the Charities Registration Board, with Leighton Evans and Julie Hardaker joining as new Board members.
This month, we also acknowledge Roger Holmes Miller, who concludes his term on 16 December.
Roger Holmes Miller
Roger Holmes Miller
Roger Holmes Miller was appointed to the board for a 1-year fixed term in December 2024. As his term has come to an end, we warmly thank Roger for his contribution during this time and for supporting the transition from a 3-person to a 5-person board.
Roger has brought deep legal and strategic expertise to the board, drawing on his extensive experience, including nine years of prior service on the Charities Registration Board. His insights and experience have helped strengthen the board and support its important role.
Visit the Charities Registration Board page on our website to learn more about the board members.
Decision making by the Charities Registration Board
The decision whether to register or deregister a charity is the responsibility of the Charities Registration Board. Every year, hundreds of organisations register or deregister as a charity. In the 2024 – 2025 financial year, 1,288 organisations became registered charities, and 890 deregistered. Most deregistrations are either voluntary or occur when a charity has persistently failed to file its annual returns.
In most cases, the Board formally delegates the responsibility to Charities Services to carry out under the Board’s authority. The Board focuses its attention on novel or complex cases, for example, where there is doubt about whether an organisation’s purpose is charitable, or where there is evidence that indicates serious wrongdoing by a charity or its
officer(s).
This year, the Board’s authority to make decisions at a time when it had only three members was challenged in court. For a brief period in 2024, following changes to the Charities Act 2005, the Charities Registration Board had three members and two newly created positions, which were vacant until December 2024. In May this year, the High Court determined that the Board must have five appointed members at all times to be able to make lawful decisions (with three members constituting a quorum). The Board now has five appointed members and processes are in place to ensure that the Board will always have five members. In the time period when the Board had three members, it also signed an instrument of delegation.
The Board has considered advice on any implications for registration and deregistration decisions made under delegated authority during the period when it did not have five members. The Board is satisfied that all decisions made by the Board during the period remain valid. All entities to which these decisions relate can continue to rely on the decisions made by the Board or under delegation from the Board. The Board and Department will continue to act on the basis of those decisions.
Charities Registration Board decision - Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust
The Charities Registration Board has issued its decision on the charitable status of Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust.
In accordance with section 55D of the Charities Act 2005 the Board has ruled not to deregister CC31649 (the Trust) from the Charities Register.
In its decision, the Board concluded Waipareira Trust had addressed the structure and governance issues set out in its preliminary deregistration notice in September 2024, at sufficient scale and magnitude to maintain its charitable status, namely:
- It has accepted errors in its interpretation of its statutory obligations and has taken professional advice regarding remediation
- It is restructuring its affairs to clearly distinguish between charitable and non-charitable activities.
In particular, the Trust:
- Created a legal entity that will share governance with the Trust, but not funding, to differentiate between charitable and non-charitable activity and their funding streams
- Made changes to remuneration of key staff
- Implemented a new conflict of interest policy
- Reversed non-charitable loans and bonus payments.
The Board is satisfied these corrective measures demonstrate that any non-charitable purposes previously evidenced through the Trust’s activities have been removed and that the Trust’s current purposes are exclusively charitable within the meaning of the Charities Act 2005.
“This was a difficult and prolonged case with the test for ‘serious wrongdoing’ being necessarily high. The decision not to deregister was complex. Had significant remediation not been taken, the Board’s decision would likely have been different,” says Jane Wrightson, Chair of the Charities Registration Board.
The Trust’s corrective measures will be subject to ongoing monitoring by the charities’ regulator, the Department of Internal Affairs.
No further comment will be made.
The Board’s full decision is available on the Charities Services’ website
Annual Meeting recording is now available
On 12 November, we held our Annual Meeting. This meeting offered registered charities the opportunity to hear from Charities Services and ask us questions.
The meeting included addresses from key speakers, interviews discussing information on the benefits and obligations of being a registered charity, and the value of the Charities Register and annual reporting from a funder’s perspective. We finished the meeting with a question and answer session.
We would like to extend our thanks to all the charities who submitted questions before the meeting and those who were able to attend on the day.
You can view a recording of the Annual Meeting and the Charities Services Annual Snapshot on the Charities Services website.
Governance information
At our recent Annual Meeting, we received a number of questions about governance, covering topics such as legal structures, officer duties, and conflicts of interest.
These questions highlight how important governance is for every charity. It’s a good opportunity to remind charities that they must review their governance procedures at least once every 3 years. This rule has been in effect since 5 October 2023, so if you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to start planning your approach.
We have resources on our website to help make your review easier:
- Guides on good governance and officer obligations
- A downloadable Governance Checklist [PDF, 267 KB]
- Webinars to guide you through key topics:
These resources will help you keep your governance strong and your charity running smoothly.
Reminder - Tier 3 and Tier 4 reporting has changed
There have been important updates to Tier 3 and Tier 4 accounting standards and reporting requirements, and these changes are mandatory for charities with financial years ending on or after 31 March 2025.
What you need to do:
- Download the latest annual reporting templates for Tier 3 and Tier 4 from the Charities Services website. Templates from previous years can no longer be used for annual reporting.
- If you use accounting software or an accountant, make sure your systems are up to date with the new standards.
- If you have engaged an external accountant to prepare your Performance Report, ask if they used the new standards.
- Not sure which tier or standard applies to your charity? Visit the “Choosing the right tier” page on our website.
Taking these steps now will help you avoid issues when it’s time to prepare your annual return.
Incorporated Societies - update on recent survey
Recently we sent a targeted email campaign to over 3,000 charities that are still registered under the 1908 Incorporated Societies Act.
The email included a survey to help us understand incorporated societies’ plans and progress with the changes. Over 85% of respondents indicated that they are reregistering as an incorporated society with the Companies Office. Of those, 42% have either completed or are close to completing reregistration. It’s positive to see many charities well underway with their changes.
Reminder: For those who still need to take action, make sure you have a plan to complete your required changes by 5 April 2026 otherwise your charity will cease to exist and cannot operate.
Notify Charities Services
After completing your change with the Companies Office, you must notify Charities Services within 3 months by:
- Logging into your charity’s online account, and
- Completing an Update Details Form.
For further information about incorporated societies, please refer to the Companies Office website.
Charities Services - closing down period
Charities Services will close from Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will reopen on Thursday 8 January 2026.
During this time, charities can still log in to their online account to file annual returns or update their details. The Charities Register will also be available for everyone to check the latest information on registered charities.
The team at Charities Services wishes you a happy and safe holiday season.
12 Days of Giving
Community Operations and Philanthropy New Zealand have launched the 12 Days of Giving campaign to inspire generosity across Aotearoa. It highlights stories showing the impact of giving, volunteering, and philanthropy in our communities.
You can watch the videos on the Community Matters website.