Charities Services - Fraudulent filings by 'Communities Against Alcohol Harm Incorporated'
Steven Morse made this Official Information request to Department of Internal Affairs
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From: Steven Morse
Hi,
I was deeply disturbed to read in the Annual Return for 'Communities Against Alcohol Harm Incorporated', an organization funded by publicans to lobby against off-license sales of liquor, that this organization which receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from owners of bars and clubs each year- and spends hundreds of thousands on lobbying- that their "annual operating payments are under $140,000" in an annual return from fiscal year 2024 that Charities Services signed off on.
https://register.charities.govt.nz/Docum...
I am aware that Charities Service policy allows organizations like the on-license lobby that is CAAH to keep reporting at a lower standard than should be required based on their operating payments for up to two years after they should have to conform to the appropriate standards, but I must request the following information:
1) Is it Charities Service policy to allow an organization to fraudulently claim to have operating payments under $140,000 per annum, when it directly contradicts this in the very same annual return and admits that its operating payments are more than a hundred thousand dollars in excess of that limit?
Thanks,
Steven
From: RIS Official Correspondence
Department of Internal Affairs
Tçnâ koe Steven,
Thank you for your OIA request to the Department of Internal Affairs.
The Department will provide its response to your request as soon as practicable and within twenty working days. The 20th working day is 11 July 2025.
Please note that in cases where the Department’s response provides information that is identified to be of general public interest, the response may also be published on the Department of Internal Affairs website. If the Department publishes its response to your OIA request, all personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed.
Ngâ mihi
Ekta Raturi (ia/she/her)| Official Correspondence Coordinator
Te Pâhekoheko|Operations Regulatory and Identity Services
The Department of Internal Affairs|Te Tari Taiwhenua
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From: RIS Official Correspondence
Department of Internal Affairs
Tçnâ koe Steven,
Your request has been forwarded onto Charities Services as a Business
Inquiry.
It may be helpful for me to explain, where information can be freely
provided without the need for collation or consultation, and the nature of
the information does not require considerations for withholding or refusal
under the Official Information Act (OIA), there is no need to action it as
an OIA request.
Ngâ mihi
Krystle Courtier ([1]she/her) | Advisor Official Correspondence
Regulatory and Identity Services
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
[2]www.dia.govt.nz
*If you’re wondering about the use of pronouns she/her on this signature
you can find more information about how sharing pronouns can help to
create a sense of belonging and respect [3]here.
References
Visible links
1. https://ssc.govt.nz/our-work/diversity-a...
2. http://www.dia.govt.nz/
3. https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-wo...
From: Helen Steven
Department of Internal Affairs
Tçnâ koe Steven,
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 12
June 2025.
I am responding to your request as a business query. It may be helpful for
me to explain, where information can be freely provided without the need
for collation or consultation, and the nature of the information does not
require considerations for withholding or refusal under the Official
Information Act (OIA), there is no need to action it as an OIA request
Your request included concerns about the 2024 annual return of Communities
Against Alcohol Harm Incorporated [CC60348]. You asked:
“Is it Charities Services policy to allow an organization to fraudulently
claim to have operating payments under $140,000 per annum, when it
directly contradicts this in the very same annual return and admits that
its operating payments are more than a hundred thousand dollars in excess
of that limit?”
Charities are obligated to report to Charities Services annually using the
accounting standards set by the [1]External Reporting Board (XRB). The
standards are set for not-for-profit entities dependent on their
expenditure or operating payments for the previous two financial years.
A charity may report at the Tier 4 standard if they have annual operating
expenditure is under $140,000 and use cash-based accounting.
Communities Against Alcohol Harm Incorporated’s operating expenditure in
2023 was $68,612 and in 2024 it was $259,212, therefore the charity has
elected to continue to file their 2024 annual returns under the Tier 4
standard.
The annual return summary on the public Charities Register shows the
charity has declared they are reporting at the Tier 4 standard, as allowed
by the External Reporting Board standards.
We note the annual return summary format, under the ‘Your Organisation’
heading, includes the following statement: “Can be used if annual
operating payments are under $140,000 and charity has no Public
Accountability”. This is added automatically by Charities Services’
software is not information supplied by the charity. It appears on all
annual return summaries on the Charites Register for this Tier. This may
have caused confusion.
Ngâ mihi
Helen
Helen Steven ([2]she/her)* | Manager Engagement and Business Improvement
Charities Services | Ngâ Ratonga Kaupapa Atawhai
Regulatory and Identity Services Branch
Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
[3]dia.govt.nz | [4]Facebook | [5]LinkedIn
[6]Logo: Internal Affairs - Te Tari Taiwhenua
References
Visible links
1. https://www.xrb.govt.nz/
2. https://ssc.govt.nz/our-work/diversity-a...
3. https://www.dia.govt.nz/
4. https://www.facebook.com/dia.govt.nz
5. https://nz.linkedin.com/company/departme...
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