The income tax-exempt charitable structure as a vehicle for holding Australian native title interests

The Australian tax system grants a variety of tax concessions to what are termed ‘charities’. For example, the income of charitable institutions or funds is exempt from income tax, non-commercial activities by charities are exempt from the goods and services tax and public benevolent institutions (PBIs) (a subset of charities) are eligible for certain fringe benefits tax exemptions. Such tax concessions can provide significant financial advantages to any entity that is able to claim such charitable status. Similar tax concessions exist for charities in New Zealand.