Charities & Charitable Organisations

Charity is the voluntary giving of assistance in any form to those in need. Charities and charitable organisations are organised entities whose purpose is the distribution of charitable aid.

Most forms of charity are concerned with the direct provision of basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, medical assistance, health care and shelter. Other activities performed as charity include visiting the imprisoned, visiting homebound and hospitalised people, educating orphans, supporting social movements. Donations to specific causes that benefit the unfortunate indirectly, such as donations to the Red Cross, are also charity.

Following the rapidly increased need for organised charity and aid during the industrial revolution, many institutions evolved to carry out the labour of assisting the poor. These institutions, religious and otherwise, called generically ‘charities’, still provide the bulk of charitable giving in terms of monetary value. Charities such as these include orphanages, food banks, religious institutes dedicated to care of the poor, hospitals, organizations that visit the homebound and imprisoned, and many others. A charitable organisation is a far more modern institution and operates as a type of non-profit organisation or ‘not-for-profit’. Charitable organisations differ from other types of ‘not-for-profits’ in their focus on various philanthropic goals serving the public interest or common good.

To publicly raise money, charities in Australia are required to register under the state or territory jurisdiction within which they intend to raise funds. Charities must also be registered in each and any state or territory in which they intend to publicly raise funds. In Australia, registration and regulation of charities and charitable organisations is under the jurisdiction of the Australian Taxation Office.