Regulator Delivers the Charity Tick

Registered Australian charities will soon be able to use a high-profile “charity tick” of approval, endorsed by the charity regulator, to show they are well governed, reputable and worthy of public donations.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) said it had designed the charity tick at the request of a number of charities as a small, visually appealing logo that can be used across a variety of formats.

Charities will be able to use the charity tick on their website, at events, on their social media accounts and posts, on letterheads and other marketing materials.

The charity tick will be available for charities to download in the Charity Portal by the end of November, ahead of the traditional Christmas charitable giving period.

The ACNC said a similar concept to the charity tick already existed in the United Kingdom, while New Zealand charities have a unique “charity number” that can be used when fundraising.

“We see the benefit of the charity tick as two-fold; registered charities can display their charity registration status in a simple way and donors can instantly be confident that they are giving to a registered and regulated charity,” ACNC commissioner Susan Pascoe AM said.

“The charity tick will only be able to be downloaded by a registered charity via the Charity Portal.

“Its use will be governed by terms and conditions which the charity must agree to before they can download the file. The ACNC will track the use of the tick by each registered charity and take action where we are notified of a breach of the terms of use.”

Pascoe said all registered charities would receive an email when the charity tick becomes available and the ACNC would be conducting a public information campaign to support the release of the tick.

“Our 2015 Public Trust and Confidence research showed that support of charities is closely entwined with trust, and that charities are the third most trusted group in Australia (behind doctors and the police). Importantly, when the ACNC’s role as the charity regulator was explained to research survey respondents, their trust in Australia’s charities grew significantly,” she said.

“This increase in trust is partly derived from the credibility which well-governed charities generate and also from the fact that there is a regulatory body keeping watch over the sector, finding those that do the wrong thing, and taking action to ensure that all charities operate with integrity and good practice.”