Product Overview
- Our online order forms make setting up a not for profit organisation in Australia convenient and easy.
- Our legal documents have been carefully drafted to comply with the appropriate legislative and tax office requirements.
- We support a range of different not for profit legal structures including companies, trusts, associations, and indigenous corporations.
- Our highly experienced team manually reviews every submission to ensure information is free from error and ASIC friendly (where required) - saving you headaches and costs down the line.
- As ASIC registered agents, we perform same-day registration of your company with ASIC, and include as standard electronic delivery of all your company documentation (where required).
- We pride ourselves on great and informed customer service, and our professional team is available to discuss any question or client issue you may have.
- Full-service printing, binding and delivery options are available.
Choosing Your Legal Structure
When choosing a structure for the purposes of
starting a not for profit, make sure you understand the responsibilities that go with that structure. Your legal structure will affect many things, such as its legal identity (whether it can be sued), its governance structure (who makes what types of decisions), where it operates, who is liable for its debts, and its specific responsibilities, such as what its reporting or other compliance obligations are.
You need to consider:
- Where will the NFP organisation operate?
- Will there be a changing of membership?
- What is the nature of the activities?
- How will the organisation raise money?
- What will be the size of your NFP organisation or charity and how complex will its activities be?
- Will you have employees or volunteers?
- What accountability will you have to your members and the community?
- the likely size of your charity, and how complex its activities will be
Different types of NFP legal structures include:
- Incorporated association (the most common type) - the name will be something like 'ABC Incorporated'.
- Companies Limited by Guarantee (the next most common type) - the name will be something like 'ABC Limited'.
- Trust - a common structure used for private charities, for example, ‘ABC Fund’, or ‘ABC Foundation’
- Unincorporated association - a less formal structure, with no separate legal identity
- Cooperative - the name must include the words ‘Cooperative’ and ‘Limited’ or ‘Ltd’
- Indigenous corporation - for example, ‘ABC Aboriginal Corporation’.
Each structure has advantages and disadvantages – it is important to balance these against your not for profit’s particular circumstances and plans. This is an important decision, so consider getting legal and other professional advice early, and make sure it is specific to your situation. For example, a not for profit may be able to be incorporated under state law rules for incorporation, however, may still not meet ACNC requirements to be registered as a charity.
We provide registration and legal documentation for a range of different legal structures, however, we do not ourselves give advice on the best structure for your organisation.
ACNC Requirements
Establishing your not for profit's legal structure, and registering that charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), are two separate things.
Registering your charity with the ACNC, which might provide benefits such as access to charity tax concessions, can be a lengthy and complex process. ABNAustralia.com.au may be able to provide assistance in this area - our fees will reflect the time commitment required to support such an endeavour. Enquire now to get in touch and we can discuss your needs.
http://www.acnc.gov.au/
Our Promise
Our team has been providing affordable business registration and legal document services since 1976. Our longevity reflects our reputation for the best customer service in the business, underpinned by our commitment to effective documentation and attention to detail.
Our goal is to partner with accounting and professional firms who understand the value of an informed business registration and legal document provider. Why not try establishing your next charity organisation online with us at ABNAustralia.com.au and experience for yourself the difference in service that our existing customers have come to expect.