Charities Law Update 2026
1.25 CPD Hours
Description
Join us for a practical update on key recent developments in charities law, tax, governance, and regulatory reform, relevant for everyone involved in the charitable sector.
An update on recent developments in charities law, including:
- IRD’s November 2025 consultation paper and their proposal to create a new category of charities (which IRD refer to as “donor-controlled”) for the purposes of creating new tax rules
- IRD’s proposals for the tax treatment of membership subscriptions etc for “taxable not-for-profits”
- IRD’s proposals for donation tax credit simplifications
- The new duty for registered charities to review their governance procedures every 3 years
- The decisions of the High Court and the Charities Registration Board | Te Rātā Atawhai in Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust
- A brief update on the Online Casino Gambling Bill
- A brief update on incorporated societies following the repeal of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 on 5 April 2026; and
- A brief update on current financial reporting issues for charities
The webinar is intended to be suitable for those involved with charities, at whatever level, advanced or otherwise. It is intended to give both a theoretical overview as well as sufficient detail to be practical. Practitioners from both small and large firms should attend.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
An update on important developments relating to charities over the past year that those involved with charities should be across.
SUITED TO
Lawyers and accountants involved with charitable organisations in their professional and private capacities, not-for-profit specialists, and charities themselves.
All involved or likely to be involved with charities, at whatever level, should be familiar with these developments in charities law.
PRESENTER
Sue Barker, Director, Sue Barker Charities Law
Sue is the director of Sue Barker Charities Law, an award-winning boutique law firm based in Wellington specialising in charities law and public tax law. Sue is the author of Taxation of Charities in Aotearoa New Zealand (LexisNexis, forthcoming) and a contributor to a number of other charities law publications, including The Law and Practice of Charities in Aotearoa New Zealand 2ed (LexisNexis, 2024). Sue is a director of the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand and is recognised internationally as a Charity Law Scholar. In 2019, Sue was awarded the New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau ā Taiao, New Zealand’s premier legal research award, to undertake research into the question “What does a world-leading framework of charities law look like?”. The final report from the Fellowship, entitled Focus on purpose, was released in April 2022 making 70 recommendations for charities law reform in Aotearoa New Zealand. More information about Sue and the research can be found at www.charitieslaw.co and www.charitieslawreform.nz