New Forms Hub

Updated 10 May 2024

New forms are now available for charities to use when applying for registration, updating details, and completing annual returns. These new forms align with the new requirements of the Charities Act 2005, and the new Tier 3 and 4 reporting standards issued by the External Reporting Board (XRB) in May 2023.

The forms can be found by logging in to your charity dashboard and selecting “Create Annual Return” and “Update Charity Details” as normal, or by downloading them from our resources page(external link).

For reporting periods that ended on or after 15 June 2023, charities can choose to adopt the new reporting standards early and use the new annual return forms.

The new annual return forms and new reporting standards will become mandatory for all reporting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

If you have any questions about accessing or using these forms, please email us at info@charities.govt.nz

Options for Tier 3 Annual Returns

Charities reporting at Tier 3(external link) have two options when completing an annual return:

• If you do not wish to early adopt the new standards before they are mandatory, continue to use the current forms when completing both your performance report and annual return form.
• If you choose to early adopt, use the new reporting standards and forms for both your performance report and annual return form.

Options for Tier 4 Annual Returns

Small charities with less than $140,000 in annual operating payments that use cash-based accounting (Tier 4(external link)) have three options when completing their annual returns:

• If you do not wish to early adopt the new standards before they are mandatory, continue to use the current forms when completing both your performance report and annual return form.
• Or choose to early adopt and complete both a performance report and annual return form using the new reporting standards.
• Or choose to early adopt and complete a combined annual return and performance report using the new reporting standards.

 
A combined Tier 4 Annual Return will include all the information which would normally be provided separated in a performance report, including:

• Statement of Service Performance,
• Information about cash received and paid by your charity during the financial year,
• Whether or not you are registered for GST, and
• Descriptions of any related party transactions.
  
  

Up until now a separate performance report has always been required for all registered charities when reporting, regardless of tier. The option to complete a combined report will mean some Tier 4 charities have an easier time completing their report, but it is good to keep in mind that having a separate performance report can be useful way to show funders and the public the work that you do.