Register of Cultural Organisations
Gifts to public funds on the Register of Cultural Organisations may be tax deductible if the public fund is a deductible gift recipient (DGR).
The Office for the Arts, within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, administers the Register of Cultural Organisations.
Organisations currently on the register include choirs, dance groups, festivals, theatre groups and art exhibition venues.
On this page
Entering your organisation on the register
Contact the Office for the Arts - Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and CommunicationsExternal Link to obtain the Register of Cultural Organisations guide and the Application for Register of Cultural Organisations form.
The Office for the Arts will assess your organisation's eligibility to be entered on the register. If your organisation is entered on the register, the form is then sent to us to endorse the organisation as a DGR.
Applying for DGR endorsement
The Office for the Arts, within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, administers the Register of Cultural Organisations.
Organisations seeking entry to the Register of Cultural Organisations complete information relevant to DGR endorsement on the Application for Register of Cultural Organisations form. If an organisation is entered on the register, the form is then sent to us to endorse the organisation as a DGR. The organisation does not need to apply separately for endorsement of its public fund.
Maintaining the Register of Cultural Organisations
The Office for the Arts, within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, administers the Register of Cultural Organisations.
The Treasurer and the Minister for the Arts decide whether to register the organisation and its public fund. This decision is not made by us.
If your organisation wants to be entered on the register, it must meet several requirements, including:
- it is a registered charity or an Australian government agency
- its principal purpose must be to promote literature, music, a performing art, a visual art, a craft, design, film, video, television, radio, community arts, Indigenous arts or languages, or movable cultural heritage
- it does not give any of its property, profits or financial surplus to its members, beneficiaries, controllers or owners
- it maintains a public fund to receive gifts for its principal purpose
- it agrees to provide information on donations at six monthly intervals
- it agrees with the Office for the Arts that, if included on the register, it will participate in periodic reviews of eligibility.
Cultural activities undertaken as the principal purpose of an organisation on the Register of Cultural Organisations may include:
- creating a new theatrical work
- publishing a literary magazine
- building a community arts centre.
Gifts to public funds on the Register of Cultural Organisation may be tax deductible if the fund is endorsed by us as a deductible gift recipient. The Office for the Arts maintains the Register of Cultural Organisations.