What is a public benevolent institution (PBI)?
A public benevolent institution (PBI) is a type of charity whose main purpose is to work directly to relieve poverty, sickness, suffering or disability. It must provide its services directly to people in need of relief.
Examples of PBIs include: disability support services, some not-for-profit homes for the aged and housing bodies that provide low rental or subsidised accommodation to underprivileged persons affected by poverty, sickness or disability.
Who determines PBI status?
From 3 December 2012
From 3 December 2012, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is responsible for determining PBI status. The ACNC registers organisations as charities, including particular types of charities such as PBIs. The ATO accepts that an organisation is a PBI if it is registered by the ACNC as a PBI.
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For guidance on what a PBI is and how to apply for registration as a PBI, refer to the ACNC website at www.acnc.gov.au
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Before 3 December 2012
Before 3 December 2012, the ATO decided whether an organisation was a PBI for the purpose of determining entitlement to endorsement to access charity tax concessions and deductible gift recipient status.
You can access archived ATO guidance on what a PBI is in the following documents:
Tax concessions and endorsement requirements
PBIs must be endorsed by the ATO if they want to access the following tax concessions:
- charity tax concessions:
- income tax exemption
- goods and services tax (GST) charity concessions
- fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption
- deductible gift recipient status.
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From 3 December 2012, PBIs must be registered by the ACNC before we can endorse them to access the tax concessions listed above.
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If a PBI is endorsed by us for income tax exemption, it will be entitled to a refund of franking credits on dividends it receives.
PBIs are able to self-assess their entitlement to GST concessions for non-profit organisations.
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For more information on the tax concessions available to PBIs refer to Tax concessions - an overview in our publication Tax basics for non-profit organisations.
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Last Modified: Tuesday, 4 December 2012