We recommend that you regularly review your DGR to ensure that it continues to operate for the purposes for which it was granted status as a DGR.
The law does not require any particular intervals between self-reviews, but we recommend a yearly review. There should also be a review when there is a change in your organisation's structure or operations.
Endorsed DGRs
Endorsed DGRs must tell us if they cease to be entitled to endorsement. You may be prosecuted if you don't notify us of the loss of entitlement to an endorsement.
Things that can affect an entitlement to be endorsed as a DGR are:
- changes to purpose and operations
- maintaining a gift fund
- the 'in Australia' requirement
- the receipts for gifts or deductible contributions your organisation issues.
This obligation means you need to regularly review your organisation's status.
To help you self-review, we have two worksheets:
- Worksheet 1: review of a DGR endorsed as a whole
- Worksheet 2: review of a DGR endorsed for the operation of a fund, authority or institution it owns or includes.
Upon completion of your review, if you find your organisation is no longer entitled to endorsement, you must tell the ATO. You must do this before entitlement ceases or as soon as practicable afterwards.
If your organisation ceases to be entitled because it no longer has an ABN or is no longer registered with the ACNC, you do not have to tell us.
If you have gone through the worksheet and find your organisation is entitled, you do not have to contact us and your organisation's status continues unchanged.
DGRs listed by name
We recommend you regularly review your DGR status to ensure:
- your organisation uses gifts, contributions or money received solely for its principal purpose
- any change in your organisation's principal purpose has not affected your DGR status
- your organisation continues to comply with any rules or conditions made by the Prime Minister or any other minister relating to your organisation being or becoming a DGR.
The authority to remove your organisation's listing as a DGR in the tax law remains with the government and parliament. If you find your organisation no longer meets the conditions for which it was granted DGR status, you must advise the relevant minister in writing.
When we review
As part of our general administration of tax laws, and to ensure only genuine entities or funds receive DGR concessions, we will review DGRs. The reviews help establish if DGRs are in fact entitled to their status as DGRs.
We may ask you to provide information and documents relevant to your organisation's status as a DGR. While you must comply with this request, you will be given at least 28 days to provide the information and documents.
Failure to comply can lead to endorsement being revoked, and to prosecution.
Endorsed DGRs – revoking endorsement
We can revoke a DGR's endorsement if any of the following apply:
- it is not entitled to be endorsed
- it has not provided information or documents within the specified time following our request
- it has not given the specified information on receipts for tax deductible gifts and contributions.
We will provide written notice of the revocation. The revocation has effect from a date we specify and it may be retrospective.
If you are dissatisfied with the revocation of your organisation's DGR endorsement, you can lodge an objection against the revocation. You must send your objection to us in writing, giving the grounds for the objection.
We can review all DGRs, including DGRs listed in the law, to ensure they continue to be eligible to receive deductible gifts and contributions.
We may ask, in writing, that you provide information and documents relevant to your organisation's status as a DGR. While you must comply with this request, you will be given at least 28 days to provide the information and documents.
Failure to comply can lead to penalties and prosecution.
DGRs listed by name – removal of listing
The authority to remove a listed DGR remains with the government and parliament.
We must advise the relevant minister in writing within 28 days if we are satisfied as result of our review of any of the following:
- your organisation fails or ceases to use gifts, contributions or money received solely for its principal purpose
- there is a change in your organisation's principal purpose
- your organisation fails or ceases to comply with any rules or conditions made by the Prime Minister or any other minister relating to your organisation being or becoming a DGR.
Our notice to the relevant minister may only include such information that is relevant to your organisation's DGR status.
The minister may only disclose our information relating to the removal of your organisation's name as a DGR in the tax law.
The government and parliament will then consider whether to continue your organisation's DGR status or amend the tax law to remove your organisation's name as a DGR.
If your organisation is endorsed as a DGR, you must inform us in writing if your organisation stops being entitled to endorsement. This means you need to undertake regular reviews of your endorsement status. We have a worksheet to help DGRs review their status.