Changes to Charity Law
Recently introduced legislation aims to create a coherent system for charity registration and regulation in Northern Ireland. This will have a significant impact on all voluntary and community organisations.
What's new?
Consultation on public benefit
The Charity Commission's consultation on Public Benefit Guidance has now ended. Click here for feedback from the consultation events. The full report should be available in January/February 2010.
Future of Charity Reporting seminar, 11 January 2010
Learn about and debate the plans for reforming the system of charity reporting and accounting. Click here for details of the Belfast seminar.
Here we outline what's been happening, what further changes are planned and how this will affect you. This information will be regularly updated as new developments are announced.
Charity Commission established
A new Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is now established, marking the beginning of a process to create a coherent system for charity registration and regulation within Northern Ireland.
This body was created under the Charities Act (NI) 2008. In summary, its purposes are to:
- establish a compulsory register of all charities operating in Northern Ireland
- provide a test to determine which groups are charities
- establish new requirements for public collections
- better regulate, supervise and support charities in Northern Ireland.
For more information on the role and responsibilities of the Charity Commission, go to the Charity Commission's interim website
For guidance on the provisions of the Charities Act (NI) 2008, go to NICVA's Charity law reform page
Staged implementation
These purposes and the provisions of the Charities Act will be implemented in stages. Much of the detail of the process has yet to be made public.
Key activities to keep an eye out for include:
- Consultation on the public benefit test (Completed November 2009. Due to report by Jan/Feb 2010) - this will determine the measure by which the Commission determines which groups are charities.
- Commencement of charity registration (scheduled for April 2010) - the Commission has still to announce how this will be managed, but it is expected larger charities will register first. Click here for a summary of consultation event discussions.
- First financial returns and reports to the Commission (scheduled for April 2011) - The Charities Act established accounting thresholds and audit requirements for charities in Northern Ireland. Click here for details of a Charity Commission seminar on future reporting requirements (11 Jan 2010).
Click here to view the Charity Commission's full draft timetable
For more information, visit the Charity Commission's website
