Research into charities
Last updated 13 June 2025
Charities Services promotes research about charities, as required by the Charities Act 2005.
Why research matters
Research into the charitable sector helps people understand what charities do. It builds trust by making the sector more transparent and supports better policy and funding decisions.
The Charities Register
We help promote research by making data from the Charities Register available to the public. The Register is a database with information on all registered charities and those that have been deregistered.
People use the Register to:
- decide who to give money to
- help plan strategy
- support research and policy work.
How to search the Charities Register
You can look up one charity or explore wider trends.
Basic search
Find a specific charity.
Go to the basic search
Advanced search
Explore trends or focus on specific types of charities.
Go to the advanced search
Note: Do not use the Register to collect email addresses for marketing or sales. This breaches New Zealand’s anti-spam laws.
Resources to help you use the Register
Read the Advanced Search Guide
Watch the webinar on using the Register
Research reports and data snapshots
We publish data from charities’ annual returns. This helps the public, researchers, and policy makers understand the sector.
Quarterly snapshots of recently registered charities
Each quarter, we share data on newly registered charities, such as their sectors, locations, and main activities.
Quarterly snapshot: 1 January - 31 March 2025 [PDF, 103 KB]
Quarterly snapshot: 1 October - 31 December 2024 [PDF, 111 KB]
Quarterly snapshot: 1 July - 30 September 2024 [PDF, 187 KB]
Quarterly snapshot: 1 April - 30 June 2024 [PDF, 103 KB]
Quarterly snapshot: 1 January - 31 March 2024 [PDF, 55 KB]
Earlier snapshots available on request.
Volunteer information
Charities report on their volunteers each year. We publish this data to show how volunteering supports the sector.
2025 charities volunteering snapshot. [PDF, 168 KB]
2024 charities volunteering snapshot. [PDF, 169 KB]
2023 charities volunteering snapshot. [PDF, 133 KB]
2022 charities volunteering snapshot. [PDF, 128 KB]
2021 charities volunteering snapshot. [PDF, 132 KB]
Earlier snapshots available on request.
Sector data from Annual Reviews
Sector’s year in numbers 2023/2024 [PDF, 771 KB]
Sector’s year in numbers 2022/2023 [PDF, 190 KB]
Sector’s year in numbers 2021/2022 [PDF, 1200 KB]
Earlier data available on request.
Public Trust and Confidence surveysFrom time to time we commission surveys to measure public trust and confidence in charities.
Public trust and confidence in charities - 2019 survey results [PDF, 166 KB]
Public trust and confidence in charities - 2016 survey results [PDF, 819 KB]
Public trust and confidence in charities - 2014 survey results [PDF, 3.7 MB]
Earlier surveys available on request.
Recent research about the charitable sector
We share links to external research that offers more insights into the charitable and community sector.
State of Volunteering in Aotearoa New Zealand Report 2024 [PDF, 3.7 MB]
State Of the Sector 2024 — Community Research
Share research with us
If you have produced research or want to share a research opportunity, email us at info@charities.govt.nz.