Charities no more

Three charities in Dandenong, Eumemmerring and Doveton have been deregistered.
Australian Hazara Students Group, Church Of All Nations and Bethany Mission Australia were among 590 charities to have their Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) registration revoked after failing to submit their annual reports two years running.
According to its Facebook page, the Australian Hazara Students Group helped Hazara students to reach their educational goals and enhance their integration into mainstream Australian society.
The page’s content has not been updated since June last year and the group did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal.
On its active Facebook page, Church Of All Nations in Eumemmerring describes itself as “a vibrant church, desiring to see people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds meet and have a close relationship with Jesus”.
It did not respond to requests for comment sent to the email address listed on the ACNC register.
Bethany Mission Australia also did not respond to contact from the Journal.
ACNC commissioner Susan Pascoe said these organisations were warned multiple times to submit their outstanding reports.
“Revocation for failing to report is always a last resort for the ACNC, and we prefer to work with charities to get them back on track,” she said.
“It is important that we provide the Australian community with accurate and up-to-date information on the Charity Register.
“This information is largely collected from the Annual Information Statements required from charities to meet their basic requirements to retain charitable status.”
The charities that lost their registration will have this published on their Charity Register listing and will no longer be able to display the ACNC’s Registered Charity Tick.
“Revoking charities that fail to meet their obligations is an important part of maintaining trust and confidence in the not-for-profit sector,” Ms Pascoe said.
“The public need to be confident that the national regulator is only displaying eligible charities on the Charity Register.”