The Government is appealing a recent Court of Appeal decision which upheld Family First as a charity.

Bob McCoskrie, Family First's National Director says the case is not about his group.

"The attempt by the Government to deregister Family First is a watershed event, not just for Family First, but for the whole country," he says.

Over the past week, McCoskrie says Family First has been swamped with messages of support and with contributions to their Legal Fighting Fund.

The events leading to the appeal - which began yesterday and is expected to finish today - involved a series of judicial decisions.

It all began back in April 2013, when the Charities Board notified Family First that they were going to deregister it as a charity.

"The Board considers that the Trust's opinion(s)…. are fairly described as controversial in contemporary New Zealand society," the Board said.

"We challenged their decision in the High Court, and in 2015 the judge told the Charities Board to reconsider their decision," McCoskrie recalls.

The Court told the Board: "…Members of the Charities Board may personally disagree with the views of Family First, but at the same time recognise there is a legitimate analogy between its role and those organisations that have been recognised as charities."

McCoskrie says the Board informed them after their "reconsideration," that they would still proceed with deregistering their charitable status.

"So we went back to the High Court in 2018 to challenge their decision again. But that particular judge agreed with the Charities Commission. We did not accept the High Court's analysis or its conclusions and appealed to the Court of Appeal."

Family First won that battle in the Court of Appeal last year.

The Court's decision said: "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other similar instruments, affirm a right to family life. That provides considerable support for the proposition that Family First's support of, education about, and advocacy for, the family and its related institution of marriage may, other things being equal, be charitable."

This week's head-to-head at the Supreme Court with the Government will be expensive for both parties, says McCoskrie.

Nonetheless, he says any charity has the right to represent a sector of the community.

"We're just asking for a level playing field. We have fought and will continue to fight this decision because of the threat it places on us but also on other charities and churches who hold what would be termed as conservative viewpoints, and our collective freedom to speak on behalf of our supporters in a civil society," McCoskrie says.

Source

• Supplied - Family First
• Image: Otago Daily Times

Stuff reports that churches in New Zealand have received "more than $1.5 million".

Among other Catholic entities that have received money, the Catholic Diocese of Auckland received $618,338 for 94 staff.

The Catholic Diocese of Hamilton was paid $165,880 for its 24 staff.

Catholic Diocese of Auckland general manager James van Schie said the wage subsidy helped provide "certainty for staff during this uncertain time".

All workers were being paid 100 per cent of their wages as the church was topping up the subsidy, Van Schie said.

The Anglican Diocese of Auckland received $718,123 for 109 staff.

The Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki was paid $355,058 for 65 staff.

Its senior executive manager Simon Cayley said the subsidy was applied on behalf of 50 parishes that operated their own opportunity shops.

​Cayley said without the tax-payer-funded subsidy scheme; the economy would be burdened by more people going on the benefit.

"We don't have huge reserves, we have trust funds, but we can't suddenly break them and spend them as we like because they are subject to the wishes of beneficiaries around them," Cayley said.

"We talked it through extensively before making the application. One of the reasons we referenced it was that if all these people were suddenly out of work and claiming the benefit, that would have a big cost on the economy.

The scheme is enabling us to sustain the economy beyond COVID-19."

The Wage Subsidy Scheme supports employers adversely affected by COVID-19 so that they can continue to pay their employees, and supports workers to ensure they continue to receive an income, and stay connected to their employer, even if they are unable to work.

The Wage Subsidy Scheme is available to all businesses (including the self-employed, contractors and sole traders), registered charities, incorporated societies and post-settlement governance entities, that are adversely affected by COVID-19.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• employment.govt.nz
• Image: rnz.co.nz

The High Court on Tuesday ordered that both charities - the Destiny International Trust and Te Hahi o Nga Matamua Holdings - be reinstated their charitable status.

They were taken off the Charities Register two years ago.

Destiny's lawyer, Ron Mansfield, told 1 News that they had felt "singled out for no good reason" - given that more than 1300 other charities around New Zealand had also failed to meet requirements. Read more

The UK Charities Commission said the Abbey had lost its pupil welfare responsibilities "as a result of continued concerns about the extent to which current safeguarding risks to pupils at the schools run by the [Ampleforth] charities are being adequately managed".

The Charities Commission is particularly concerned about the boarding school's management of sex-abuse allegations.

The allegations were made against 40 monks and teachers who had previously lived or worked at Ampleforth's secondary and preparatory schools and adjacent religious community.

The Commission says Ampleforth has not improved its policies enough since an inquiry into the Abbey and the St Laurence Education Trust (which runs the schools) was launched in 2016.

Harvey Grenville, head of investigations and enforcement at the Charity Commission, said: "It is of paramount importance that beneficiaries and others who come into contact with charities are protected from harm.

"We are not satisfied that the trustees of these charities have made enough progress in improving the safeguarding environment for pupils in the schools connected to the charities".

A specialist charity lawyer has been appointed as interim manager of both charities.

In a statement, the Abbey said the move would ensure "all our beneficiaries are able to flourish and thrive, reaching their full potential in a safe environment and protected from harm".

The Ampleforth preparatory school announced its closure earlier this year.

Source

• The Guardian
• The Telegraph
• Image: Flickr

Department of Internal Affairs Spokesperson Steve Corbett said the are now considering whether there is a need to change or strengthen their approach to more effectively apply the legislation to situations where there is persistent late filing

In the past, three Destiny-related charities have been removed from the charities register for failing to file an annual return as required under the Charities Act. Continue reading

"One of the groups we work with, their annual audit fee would've been $3000 to $4000 and this year it leapt up to $9000."

Ms Mickell said some were choosing to deregister. Continue reading

Last year an audit of about 1000 charities over six months by the Department of Internal Affairs has found only 59 percent have complied.

In a RNZ report last year Barker said the non-compliance was "alarming" and charities needed to take the requirement seriously.

"It's a governance issue. You have to meet these new requirements."

"Otherwise you actually are breaching the Charities Act and that could put your charitable registration at risk."

Volunteering New Zealand said charities needed more support to help them meet the new reporting standards.

Its chief executive, Scott Miller, said there was a massive learning curve.

The Department of Internal Affairs head of charities services, Lesa Kalapu, said she was comfortable with the response so far.

"We're pleased that about half of them have filed [correctly], but we would expect that number to increase as we go along."

Kalapu said the department would review the programme in June and decide then whether changes are required.

The Department of Internal Affairs has produced more than 20 resources for the reporting standards as well as running workshops and online seminars.

But Labour's Poto Williams said the government has dropped the ball.

"The government has set the standards, but the government also has a requirement to make sure that the NGOs are assisted to meet those standards."

She questioned whether the compliance ts were set too high for "ordinary decent charities".

"The number seems to suggest that there's a whole lot of misappropriation going on and I just know that that's not the case. So it would suggest that... the settings are wrong."

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• Image: charities.govt.nz

If anything is uncovered a full investigation will then be carried out.

But stripping Destiny Church of its charity status risks turning Charities Services into a censor, a charity law expert says.

To be removed from the charities register the law requires evidence of "serious wrongdoing", said Sue Barker, director of law firm Charities Law and also the co-author of The Law and Practice of Charities in New Zealand.

"And deregistering a charity for "speaking out" could have the "chilling effect" of silencing others, Barker said.

"Do we really want the charities register to be the chief censor?

Destiny Church is registered under its Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Nelson, Taranaki, Tauranga, Wellington, Whakatane, and Whangarei branches.

There are 27,934 registered charities in New Zealand, according to the Charities Services. There are hundreds, if not thousands, which fail to get onto the register, Barker said.

"It's already very hard ... I argue we want them on the register because then they're subject to all this transparency."

"If they're not on it, and are carrying on with their work, what regulation are they subject to? Probably not any."

Barker said Tamaki himself is not a charity so his income should be taxable.

"I am not aware of his tax profile but I'm presuming he is an employee and he should pay tax on the income that he receives, unless he has an exemption but I can't think of one that he would qualify for," she says.

On Friday a spokesperson for the church said they have had no communication with Charities Services so would not be commenting on the development.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• lawsociety.org.nz
• Image: resources.stuff.co.nz

"If each of these changes is small enough, they can each fly below the radar, and happen without public scrutiny, " she says.

The amendment is contained in an omnibus bill presently before Parliament's government administration select committee.

It would remove the ability of charities to appeal any decisions of the chief executive of the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Department attempted to include an apparently small change in a bill before the select committee, which is meant to clear up "minor errors" in the law.

However, this change would in fact remove charities' ability to appeal decisions of the chief executive.

The change doesn't increase the powers of the chief executive, but it does remove an important check and balance on its power.

"This is another in a series of small changes that are eroding the balance of power between the community sector and the Government, undermining the good work being done by charities on the front lines of our communities," says Elliot.

The chief executive can decide, for example, to refuse access to the charities register, to amend the register, or that the financial statements of a charity fail to comply with a financial reporting standard.

Elliot says the charitable sector has in the past tried to tell the Government that the direction of charity regulation isn't working.

She says the regulations were forcing charities to close but the Government refused to listen. "If they value the work charities do to respond to community needs, the Government needs to start listening, and it will only do that if the public sound the alarm"

The amendment is contained in the Statutes Amendment Bill. It removes the word "chief executive."

Clause 13 amends section 61(1)(a) of the charities act to reflect the appeal right given in section 59.

It ensures that Section 59 relates only to decisions of the Board, and not to decisions of the chief executive.

Source

• actionstation.org.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: aibiotech.com

Family First is appealing the decision and it will be heard in the High Court at Wellington early next year.

The group was advised in 2013 the Charities Commission intended to deregister the charity, citing Family First's traditional view of marriage being one man and one woman as one of the reasons.

"Family First gained approval as a charity eight years ago, has also passed two ‘audits' - one as recently as 2010 - and have made no change to the nature of our operations," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

"It appears that only the opinion of the Commission has changed," he said.

The group had hoped the issue would be resolved after a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Greenpeace in August.

The court ruled that Charities Act didn't limit advocacy from a charity unless it was no more than ancillary to its charitable purpose, and also found that a political purpose could also be a charitable one.

Charities Services is arguing the issue is about public benefit.

The Board's position is that Family First's main purpose is to promote particular points of view about family life.

The say that under the Act promotion of a controversial point of view is a political purpose.

It says that Family First does not advance religion or education, nor promote a benefit to all New Zealanders as determined by the Act.

"When a group who promotes the natural family as a fundamental social unit is deemed of 'no public benefit', you know a country is in deep trouble," say McCoskrie.

Source

• 3news
• charities.govt.nz
• Family First
• Image: Screenshot 3news

Strategic Pay executive reward manager Jarrod Moyle says chief executives in the charitable sector are often motivated by a cause rather than the salary and many are paid a lot less than $220,000. Listen to Morning report

It follows a consultation on tentative proposals last year which indicated concerns that the requirements captured too many charities and that these charities were not resourced to meet the new demands.

Under the new proposals, charities with operating expenditure of $1 million or more would be required to have an audit completed. Those with operating expenditure of $400,000 to $1 million could voluntarily obtain an audit or a review.

The Minister of Commerce Craig Foss says these revised requirements would apply to 3,150 of the 25,000 registered charities.

Submissions close 17 May 2013.

Source

• Scoop
• Image: Teara

Pro-choice groups have labelled Right to Life's ongoing grudge-match as tiresome and time-wasting.

The Charities Commission confirmed it received a complaint regarding the Family Planning Association's charity status, but was yet to decide whether to investigate.

Family Planning Association chief executive Jackie Edmond said she's confident the organisation meets the legal requirements of a charity.

"We're not concerned it will impact on our charity status. It's just tiresome and a distraction."

Right To Life had also complained to the Government about the association's funding, she said.

"The biggest concern for me is it makes people nervous to address the real issues because a small number of people are very vocal," Edmond said.

The Bill was drafted following reports that some professional fundraisers were keeping up to 75% of what they collect, and in some cases up to 90%.

Before the bill was passed all costs associated with fundraising carried out by a charity directly had to be disclosed, but if a third-party business was employed to do that work, no record of the amount retained by that company came under public scrutiny.

When submissions were being heard by the Commerce Commission, the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association said in its submission the bill would have minimal impact because the majority of third party fundraising is not conducted on a "percentage of donation received basis, and therefore is outside the scope of the bill."

The Fair Trading (Soliciting on Behalf of Charities) Amendment Bill, was introduced by Minister for the Environment Amy Adams in 2009 and taken over by National list MP for Dunedin Michael Woodhouse after the last election election.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• The New Zealand Herald
• Image:Research Digest

The Crown Entities Reform Bill will instead see the regulation of charities carried out by a board within the Department of Internal Affairs.

Members of ComVoices, a network of community and voluntary sector organisations, said it was not too late for the parties that made up the Government to review their support for the clause that will create havoc with the Government's results-based focus.

Ric Odom, Chair of ComVoices, said an amendment was being proposed to defer the changes. The changes would be self-defeating and would simply serve to sabotage the Government's own results-based approach.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Voxy

"We don't want a few organisations damaging the reputation of all New Zealand charities," says Foss. "Charities make a valuable contribution to society and it's important to get the balance right. They must be transparent and accountable but not subject to too much interference.

"The changes under consideration will only affect the largest 20 per cent of charities in New Zealand and leave smaller charities unaffected," says Mr Foss.

A higher level of transparency and accountability is being called for.

Registered charities are currently required to include financial statements in their annual return when it is lodged with the Charities Commission, but there is no requirement for the financial statements to be independently audited or reviewed.

Charities that spend more than $300,000 a year would have their financial statements audited, and charities spending between $200,000 and $300,000 would be required to complete an audit or assurance engagement.

Interested parties have until 20 July 2012 to make submissions.

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• Scoop
• Law Society
• Image: Stuff.co.nz - Datamail

A statement from the NZ Government says it has decided that its Charities Commission is unnecessary, carrying out a duplication of functions of Government, and has ordered its ‘disestablishment'.

NZ State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced late last year the transfer of functions from the Charities Commission to the Department of Internal Affairs that will result in a saving of $2.032 million in the four years from 2012/2013.

The transition is expected to cost the Government $300,000.00.

"Decisions on charity registrations will remain independent from Ministers through a statutorily independent board in the Department of Internal Affairs," Minister Ryall said.

Bill d'Apice, Partner with Sydney-based law firm Makinson & d'Apice Lawyers says: "With the ACNC Implementation Task Force conducting its public consultations, it will be interesting to see whether the public is of the view that the Federal Government's expenditure on a separate commission established to carry out some of the functions of the Australian Taxation Office and some new functions related to transparency and education, justifies the expenditure of the Federal Government in Australia."

The New Zealand Charities Commission was set up for a period of four years and is the first Charities Commission of the nations of the Commonwealth to be disestablished.

Bill d'Apice is a principal legal advisor to the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and advises many charities and Not for Profit organisations. He is immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Catholic Church Insurances Ltd and serves on a number of boards of public companies, private companies and Charities

Source

• ProBono News
• Image: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand