The Charities Board decides whether or not an organisation is qualified to be registered as a charity on the basis of whether it is established and maintained exclusively for "charitable purposes".

Charitable purposes includes the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, or any other matter beneficial to the community and can include the promotion of amateur sport.

A registered charity may include a non-charitable purpose (for example, advocacy) provided that the non-charitable purpose is "ancillary, secondary, subordinate or incidental" to the charitable purpose of the organisation.

Registration is important because without it, a charity is not eligible for income tax exemptions or other tax benefits available to charities. Read more