Did you know that one of the changes made by the Charities Amendment Act 2023 is that all charities now have a statutory duty to review their governance procedures at least every 3 years. The new legislation makes important changes to the legal framework for charities and will affect every registered charity in Aotearoa New Zealand. The requirement came into effect on 5 October 2023, so you should be starting to plan your charity’s approach.

When you review your governance procedures, you need to look at whether your rules and other procedures are still fit for purpose, and that they allow your charity to achieve its charitable purpose and meet its obligations.

These governance procedures, and your review of them, includes two main aspects:

• your charity’s rules documents, which could be a trust deed or constitution.
• any policies or guidelines relevant to your charity’s governance obligations, such as policies on financial management, conflicts of interest and staff and volunteers.

Charities Services Resources

To assist you with this review, Charities Services have guides on good governance and officer obligations available on their website.

They have also created a downloadable checklist (online [PDF, 239 KB] and print [PDF, 232 KB] versions) to help guide your review of governance procedures. 

In addition to your governance review, this checklist could be a useful part of your AGM, monthly committee or planning hui, or when bringing in new officers or staff.

Seed The Change | He Kākano Hāpai

Seed The Change | He Kākano Hāpai has also produced a great set of resources.

The 'Seed The Change' website sets out what’s changing and when, and what charities need to review about their operations and arrangements to meet the new legislation.

You can read about the changes to the Act in more detail by downloading our booklet (see PDF below), or download the full Act here. 

Acknowledgment 

The Changes to the Charities Act – What You Need to Know booklet is written by Sue Barker, of Sue Barker Charities Law, a boutique law firm based in Wellington specialising in charities law and public tax law. It has been generously supported by Seed The Change | He Kākano Hāpai, Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand and other partners. It is in the public domain and distributed under the Creative Commons License CC0. You are welcome to pass it on.