2015
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

(As presented)
(Treasurer)
Revenue (Charitable Organisations) Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

Contents
	Page
Part 1	Preliminary
	1	Name of Act	2
	2	Commencement	2
	3	Legislation amended	2
Part 2	Duties Act 1999
	4	Transfer of property from one superannuation fund to another
Section 62 (4)	3
	5	Transfers between trustees and custodians of superannuation funds or trusts
Section 63 (3)	3
	6	Transfer of land to certain authorities and other bodies
Section 64 (2)	3
	7	Ch 3 transactions—concessional duty
Section 91 (1) (a)	4
	8	Insurance exempt from duty generally
Section 201 (1) (f)	4
	9	Charitable organisations
Section 210A	4
	10	New section 232	4
	11	Dictionary, definition of charitable organisation	5
Part 3	Payroll Tax Act 2011
	12	Meaning of charitable organisation—pt 2.2
Schedule 2, section 2.12, definition of charitable organisation	6
Part 4	Rates Act 2004
	13	Section 8	7
Part 5	Taxation Administration Act 1999
	14	Reassessment
Section 9 (3)	9
	15	New section 9 (5)	9
	16	New part 3A	10
	17	New part 20	15
	18	Decisions subject to objection or review
Schedule 1, new section 1.2 (aa) and (ab)	16
	19	Dictionary, new definitions	17

2015
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

(As presented)
(Treasurer)
Revenue (Charitable Organisations) Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

A Bill for
An Act to amend legislation about charitable organisations

    

The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows:

Part 1	Preliminary
1	Name of Act
This Act is the Revenue (Charitable Organisations) Legislation Amendment Act 2015.
2	Commencement
This Act commences on the day after its notification day.
Note	The naming and commencement provisions automatically commence on the notification day (see Legislation Act, s 75 (1)).
3	Legislation amended
This Act amends the following legislation:
·	Duties Act 1999
·	Payroll Tax Act 2011
·	Rates Act 2004
·	Taxation Administration Act 1999.

Part 2	Duties Act 1999
4	Transfer of property from one superannuation fund to another
Section 62 (4)
omit
hospital, school or charitable organisation
substitute
hospital or school
5	Transfers between trustees and custodians of superannuation funds or trusts
Section 63 (3)
omit
hospital, school or charitable organisation
substitute
hospital or school
6	Transfer of land to certain authorities and other bodies
Section 64 (2)
omit
hospital, school or charitable organisation
substitute
hospital or school
7	Ch 3 transactions—concessional duty
Section 91 (1) (a)
omit
hospital, school or charitable organisation
substitute
hospital or school
8	Insurance exempt from duty generally
Section 201 (1) (f)
omit
hospital, school or charitable organisation
substitute
hospital or school
9	Charitable organisations
Section 210A
omit
10	New section 232
in chapter 11, insert
232	Charitable organisations
	(1)	Duty under this Act is not payable if the duty would be payable by a charitable organisation.
	(2)	In this section:
charitable organisation—
	(a)	for a tax law—see the Taxation Administration Act, section 18B; but
	(b)	does not include an organisation that is related to an excluded organisation unless a beneficial organisation determination is in force for the excluded organisation.
Note 1	Beneficial organisation determination—see the Taxation Administration Act, dictionary.
Note 2	Excluded organisation and organisation—see the Taxation Administration Act, pt 3A (Charitable organisations).
	(3)	For subsection (2), an organisation is related to an excluded organisation if—
	(a)	the organisation holds dutiable property as trustee of a trust; and
	(b)	the excluded organisation is a beneficiary under the trust, whether it has a vested share or is contingently entitled or is a potential beneficiary under the trust.
11	Dictionary, definition of charitable organisation
omit

Part 3	Payroll Tax Act 2011
12	Meaning of charitable organisation—pt 2.2
Schedule 2, section 2.12, definition of charitable organisation
substitute
charitable organisation, for a tax law—see the Taxation Administration Act 1999, section 18B.

Part 4	Rates Act 2004
13	Section 8
substitute
8	Meaning of rateable land
	(1)	In this Act:
rateable land—
	(a)	means all land in the ACT, including Commonwealth land; but
	(b)	does not include—
	(i)	commons, public parks and public reserves not held under lease or licence; and
	(ii)	sites of cemeteries and public hospitals; and
	(iii)	land leased to charitable organisations and used exclusively for religious, educational, benevolent or charitable purposes; and
	(iv)	sites of churches and other buildings used exclusively for public worship; and
	(v)	sites of buildings used for free public libraries; and
	(vi)	land leased from the Commonwealth that is occupied by, or used in connection with, a school; and
	(vii)	Commonwealth land that is not leased and is unoccupied (other than land that, immediately before becoming unoccupied, was occupied by a lessee of the Territory or Commonwealth on a weekly or fortnightly tenancy).
	(2)	In this section:
charitable organisation, for a tax law—see the Taxation Administration Act 1999, section 18B.
charitable purposes does not include community housing purposes.
community housing—see the Duties Act 1999, section 73A (4).
school means a non-government school under the Education Act 2004, and includes a playground belonging to, or used in relation to, the school.

Part 5	Taxation Administration Act 1999
14	Reassessment
Section 9 (3)
substitute
	(3)	The commissioner must not make a reassessment of a tax liability—
	(a)	more than 5 years after the initial assessment of the liability, unless—
	(i)	the purpose of the reassessment is to give effect to a decision on an objection or appeal as to the initial assessment; or
	(ii)	at the time the initial assessment or a reassessment was made, all the facts and circumstances affecting the liability under the relevant tax law of the person in relation to whom the assessment or reassessment was made were not fully and truly disclosed to the commissioner; and
	(b)	for an excluded organisation in relation to which a beneficial organisation determination does not apply—if the purpose of the reassessment is to give effect to a decision that the organisation has a tax liability, or has no tax liability, under a relevant provision.
15	New section 9 (5)
insert
	(5)	In this section:
excluded organisation—see section 18C.
relevant provision means—
	(a)	the Duties Act 1999, section 232 (Charitable organisations); and
	(b)	the Payroll Tax Act 2011, section 48 (Charitable organisations) and schedule 2, section 2.13 (Exemption from payroll tax—charitable organisations); and
	(c)	the Rates Act 2004, section 8 (1) (b) (iii) (Meaning of rateable land).
16	New part 3A
insert
Part 3A	Charitable organisations
Division 3A.1	Preliminary
18A	Meaning of organisation—pt 3A
In this part:
organisation means an association, society, institution or body.
18B	Meaning of charitable organisation
For a tax law:
charitable organisation—
	(a)	means an organisation carried on for a religious, educational, benevolent or charitable purpose; but
	(b)	does not include—
	(i)	an organisation carried on for securing pecuniary benefits to its members; or
	(ii)	an excluded organisation unless a beneficial organisation determination is in force for the excluded organisation.
18C	Meaning of excluded organisation—pt 3A
	(1)	In this part:
excluded organisation means—
	(a)	a political party; or
	(b)	an industrial organisation; or
	(c)	a professional organisation; or
	(d)	an organisation that promotes trade, industry or commerce; or
	(e)	a class of organisation prescribed by regulation.
	(2)	In this section:
industrial organisation means any of the following:
	(a)	an association of employees, or an association of employers, registered as an organisation, or recognised, under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Cwlth);
	(b)	an association of employees registered or recognised as a trade union (however described) under the law of a State or a Territory;
	(c)	an association of employers registered or recognised as such (however described) under the law of another State or a Territory;
	(d)	an association of employees which has an exclusive or predominant purpose of protecting and promoting the employees’ interests in matters concerning their employment.
organisation that promotes trade, industry or commerce means an organisation that has as one of its purposes promoting, or advocating for, trade, industry or commerce, whether generally or for a particular kind of trade, industry or commerce.
political party means an organisation that has as one of its purposes the promotion of the election to the Legislative Assembly, the Commonwealth parliament or a State parliament, of a candidate endorsed by it.
Note	State includes the Northern Territory (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1).
professional organisation means an organisation that has as one of its purposes the promotion of the interests of its members in a profession.
18D	Determining the purpose of organisation
For this part, the purpose or purposes of an organisation are to be determined having regard to all the relevant circumstances including the organisation’s stated objects (if any) and its activities.
Division 3A.2	Beneficial organisation determinations
18E	Beneficial organisation determinations—application
The following organisations may apply to the commissioner for a beneficial organisation determination:
	(a)	a professional organisation mentioned in section 18C (1), definition of excluded organisation, paragraph (c); 
	(b)	an organisation that promotes trade, industry or commerce mentioned in section 18C (1), definition of excluded organisation, paragraph (d); 
	(c)	an organisation in a class of organisation prescribed by regulation under section 18C (1), definition of excluded organisation, paragraph (e), if the regulation prescribing the class of organisation states that this section applies to the class of organisation.
18F	Beneficial organisation determinations—decision
	(1)	If the commissioner receives an application for a beneficial organisation determination from an organisation, the commissioner may make the determination if satisfied that—
	(a)	the predominant purpose of the organisation is to advance religion, advance education, relieve poverty, or otherwise benefit the community; and
	(b)	the objects and activities of the organisation that make the organisation an excluded organisation are not significant in relation to the purpose of the organisation considered as a whole; and
	(c)	the purpose of the organisation is not, or is not intended to be, beneficial to a particular class of people (whether or not members of the organisation) rather than the community generally.
	(2)	A beneficial organisation determination is a notifiable instrument.
Note 1	A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act.
Note 2	The power to make the beneficial organisation determination includes the power to amend or repeal the determination. The power to amend or repeal the determination is exercisable in the same way, and subject to the same conditions, as the power to make the determination (see Legislation Act, s 46).
18G	Beneficial organisation determinations—effect
	(1)	If the commissioner makes a beneficial organisation determination for an organisation, the determination takes effect on the day the organisation applied for the determination.
	(2)	A beneficial organisation determination for an organisation applies to the organisation in relation to any liability to pay—
	(a)	duty for a dutiable transaction entered into while the determination is in effect; and
	(b)	payroll tax and rates for a financial year in which the determination is in effect.
	(3)	The commissioner—
	(a)	must reassess an organisation’s liability to duty, payroll tax or rates for the period beginning on the day the beneficial organisation determination takes effect; but
	(b)	must not make a reassessment more than 5 years after the determination is made.
	(4)	In this section:
dutiable transaction—see the Duties Act 1999, section 7 (2).
payroll tax—see the Payroll Tax Act 2011, dictionary.
rates—see the Rates Act 2004, dictionary.
17	New part 20
insert
Part 20	Transitional—Revenue (Charitable Organisations) Legislation Amendment Act 2015
300	Meaning of commencement day—pt 20
In this part:
commencement day means the day the Revenue (Charitable Organisations) Legislation Amendment Act 2015, section 3 commences.
301	Reassessment for certain organisations
	(1)	This section applies to an excluded organisation in relation to which a beneficial organisation determination is not in force.
	(2)	The commissioner or the ACAT must not make a reassessment of a tax liability for any period before the commencement day for the excluded organisation under section 9 if the purpose of the reassessment is to give effect to a decision that the organisation has a tax liability, or has no tax liability, because the organisation was a charitable organisation or should have been treated as a charitable organisation under the following Acts as in force immediately before the commencement day (the pre-amendment law):
	(a)	the Duties Act 1999; 
	(b)	the Payroll Tax Act 2011;
	(c)	the Rates Act 2004.
	(3)	This section applies regardless of—
	(a)	when the organisation made—
	(i)	any submission to the commissioner or the ACAT that the organisation’s liability under the pre-amendment law should be decided on the basis that the organisation is, or was, a charitable organisation or should be treated as a charitable organisation; or
	(ii)	any objection or appeal about those matters; and
	(b)	whether the commissioner or the ACAT has decided that the organisation was, or should have been treated as, a charitable organisation under the pre-amendment law in the period to which the reassessment relates.
	(4)	To avoid any doubt, this section does not apply to a reassessment made before the commencement day of an organisation’s tax liability made on the basis that the organisation is, or was, a charitable organisation, or should be treated as a charitable organisation, under the pre-amendment law.
302	Expiry—pt 20
This part expires 5 years after the commencement day.
18	Decisions subject to objection or review
Schedule 1, new section 1.2 (aa) and (ab)
insert
	(aa)	under section 18F refusing an application for a beneficial organisation determination; or
	(ab)	under section 18F revoking a beneficial organisation determination; or
19	Dictionary, new definitions
insert
beneficial organisation determination means a determination made under section 18F (Beneficial organisation determinations—decision).
charitable organisation, for a tax law—see section 18B.
excluded organisation, for part 3A (Charitable organisations)—see section 18C.
organisation, for part 3A (Charitable organisations)—see section 18A.

Endnotes
1	Presentation speech
	Presentation speech made in the Legislative Assembly on 29 October 2015.
2	Notification
	Notified under the Legislation Act on	2015.
3	Republications of amended laws
	For the latest republication of amended laws, see www.legislation.act.gov.au.

© Australian Capital Territory 2015