A charitable services institution (CSI) can receive income tax deductible gifts if it is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR).
See also
- Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)External Link
- Public Benevolent Institution
- Health Promotion Charity
- Harm prevention charities
- Apply for DGR endorsement
Characteristics of a charitable services institution
A CSI is an organisation that is both:
- a charity registered by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
- an institution that would be a public benevolent institution (PBI) except it undertakes one or both of the following
- promoting the prevention or control of diseases in human beings (health promotion activities) but not as their main activity
- promoting the prevention or the control of behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings (harm prevention activities), but not as their main activity.
These organisations do not fall into the DGR categories of health promotion charity, harm prevention or PBI.
Example – CSI eligible for DGR endorsement
Caring Charities is an institution that is a charity whose focus is relieving poverty and improving health in relation to a particular disease.
Caring Charities provides:
- hostel accommodation for the homeless
- health information about the disease to health professionals, carers and the public.
Providing health information accounts for 45% of its activities.
Caring Charities also prepares and publishes research papers about poverty, but these activities are minor in extent and importance.
Caring Charities would qualify as a public benevolent institution except that it provides health information about a disease. As this is not its main activity, Caring Charities is eligible for DGR endorsement under the CSI category.
End of example
Example – not eligible as a CSI
Nalla Care is an institution that is a charity whose activities include:
- operating a homeless shelter
- running community health activities
- operating a kindergarten.
Running the community health program amounts to 20% of Nalla Care's activities. Nalla Care is equally engaged in the other two operations – the homeless shelter and the kindergarten.
Although operating the homeless shelter is a PBI activity (it offers relief to persons affected by poverty, sickness or disability) and the community health activities are not the organisation's main activity, Nalla Care is not a CSI. This is because the operation of the kindergarten does not provide any benevolent relief and is a major part of the charity's activities.
Therefore Nalla Care is not eligible for DGR endorsement.
End of example