The Government’s Bill to delay the commencement of the Charities Act 2013 by nine months, from 1 January 2014 to 1 September 2014 has not been passed by the Senate.

The Charities Act will commence on 1 January 2014: Background.

It will apply a new definition of “charity” which will be used for income tax, GST and fringe benefits tax concessions.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (the ACNC) will apply the statutory definitions when determining whether to register an entity as a charity and whether a registered charity is still eligible to remain registered.