Aussie Farms charity status revoked by ACNC

Aussie Farms has been stripped of its charity status after The Weekly Times revealed the group’s website promoted 105 farm invasions when it was granted the status.

Graphic: Delforce charity status revoked

EXCLUSIVE: CONTROVERSIAL animal activist group Aussie Farms has been stripped of its charity status, following new revelations exposed by The Weekly Times that the group’s website contained thousands of photos and videos from at least 105 invasions on Australian farms when it was granted charitable status by a Federal Government body.

The Weekly Times can reveal the Aussie Farms website contained over 12,600 photos and over 200 videos from farm invasions and was seeking donations to finance “investigations”, “legal fees” and “verification of farm names and locations” when the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission approved its charity status in January 2018, prior to the group launching its infamous map.

This morning, The Weekly Times questioned ACNC about why the Federal Government body granted Aussie Farms charitable status, when the ACNC’s own Governance Standards says charities must comply with Australian laws.

Just hours later, Aussie Farms had its charity status revoked.

Aussie Farms is notorious for launching an interactive satellite map which pinpoints the addresses and details of almost 6000 Australian farms.

The group will no longer be entitled to Commonwealth charity tax concessions, including income tax exemption, fringe benefits tax rebates and goods and services tax concessions.

While legislation prohibits ACNC from commenting on the investigation, ACNC commissioner Dr Gary Johns said revocation of charity status was reserved for the most serious of cases.

ACNC says “it would be appropriate to revoke the registration of an organisation established as a charity merely to launder money, or as a front for conducting serious criminal activity”.

Commissioner Johns said “charities must stick to their purpose, and maintain their obligations under the ACNC Act, Charities Act and adhere to Governance Standards.”

An ACNC spokesman told The Weekly Times, Aussie Farms was registered with the purpose of preventing or relieving the suffering of animals.

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Last week, The Weekly Times asked Chris Delforce, the executive director of Aussie Farms, if the group would continue operating if its charity status was revoked.

“Why wouldn’t we continue operating? We operated for four years prior to receiving charity status,” Mr Delforce said.

The ACNC spokesman said charities are registered if they meet the requirements for registration which include: not-for-profit, has only charitable purposes that are for the public benefit and does not have a disqualifying purpose.

“In deciding whether an organisation can be registered as a charity, we review the application and consider other relevant information about the organisation,” the spokesman said.

“If, following the review and evaluation of the organisation, it meets the requirements for registration, we register the organisation as a charity.”

Aussie Farms has 60 days to appeal ACNC’s decision.