If you have previously donated to charities and non-profit organisations, you might have seen the words ‘Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible’ on the receipt that was issued to you. If your donation is ‘tax deductible’ you can deduct it from your taxable income when you complete your tax return at the end of each financial year.

Your gift to a charity or non profit organisation will only be tax deductible if the organisation to which you donated has deductible gift recipients (DGR) status. Unfortunately, many animal protection organisations in Australia have historically been ineligible for DGR status as they were neither listed by name nor able to apply under one of the designated categories of DGRs in the income tax law. This contrasts with the recognition given to environmental organisations, cultural organisations and harm prevention charities (to name a few of the many categories of DGRs).

Over the last few decades, public perceptions of animals have been changing.
This is evidenced by an increasing:

• community recognition that animals are sentient beings who, like humans, are capable of feeling pain and suffering;
• public awareness about the extent to which animals are suffering in many Australian industrial establishments, including those confined in intensive ‘factory’ farms;
• emphasis on animal protection by the government;
• legal community informed and active in animal law; and
• pool of research which suggests that fostering compassion and respect for animals promotes public morality and that interpersonal violence and violence against animals are often connected[i].

In recognition of these changing community attitudes, in July 2006, the Federal Government introduced legislation intended to create a new DGR category for
charitable institutions with a principal activity of:

• providing short-term direct care to animals that are lost, mistreated, without owners; and/or
• rehabilitating those animals if they are orphaned, sick or injured.[ii]

While this is as an important step in the right direction, Voiceless believes that the amendments do not go far enough. The proposed DGR category is unduly narrow in so far as it is restricted to organisations that provide direct care for animals. Many organisations such as Voiceless that contribute to animal protection use indirect means such as public education which serves to promote respect and compassion for animals and therefore prevent or reduce animal suffering.

In order to have a greater capacity to alleviate the suffering of animals, animal protection groups need to be able to attract funds from individuals and from family foundations (registered as prescribed private funds) that can only donate to DGRs.

To keep pace with community sentiment and to recognise the role that various organisations play in preventing animal cruelty and promoting animal protection, Voiceless believes that a general gift category should be created for organisations that promote the protection of animals, whether directly or indirectly. As the government has recognised in the case of health promotion charities and harm prevention charities, the prevention of a problem is typically more efficient than treating the symptom.

While Voiceless remains ineligible to apply for DGR status under the categories in the income tax law, we are hopeful that a broader DGR category will be introduced for animal protection organisations in the near future.

You can help raise awareness about this issue by writing a letter expressing your concerns to your Federal MP or the Federal Treasurer.

For further information about DGR status and the new DGR categories please follow this link to the Non-Profit Organisations page on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website. A newsletter about the new DGR categories can also be viewed on the ATO’s Non-Profit News Service website.

1.  Randall Lockwood, ‘Animal Cruelty and Violence Against Humans: Making the Connection,’ Animal Law, vol. 5, 1999, p 81.
2.  Tax Laws Amendment (Measures No. 3) Bill 2006, Item 4.1.6. The Explanatory Memoranda to the new legislation suggests that the new DGR category is unlikely to assist organisations established solely to protect native animals; however those organisations may be eligible for DGR endorsement under the existing general category of environmental organisations. See Explanatory Memorandum, Tax Laws Amendment (Measures No. 3) Bill 2006 (Cth), 11.32-11.34.

Last Updated on 12th June 2007