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Does an organisation that receives funds from multiple states and territories need a fundraising licence?
Yes, an organisation that asks for or receives funds from multiple Australian states and territories must generally comply with the fundraising laws in each of those jurisdictions, which often involves obtaining multiple separate licences or authorities.
Because each state and territory (except the Northern Territory) has its own distinct laws, an organisation needs to determine where its fundraising is considered to be ‘taking place’ to identify which laws apply.
When and where is fundraising considered to be ‘taking place’?
A fundraising activity is generally considered to be taking place in a jurisdiction if:
- the request for donations (the appeal) occurs there (for example, where door knocking occurs, or where a campaign email is sent from)
- the fundraising communications are received there (for example, the location of the person who opens a fundraising email or views a social media appeal)
- the making of the donation occurs there (for example, where a person fills out an online donation form)
- the receipt of a donation occurs there (for example, at the organisation's headquarters)
Requirements in each state and territory
For information about the requirements in each state and territory, see:
- Does a fundraiser need a fundraising licence?
- Does a charity registered with the ACNC need a fundraising licence?
- Does an organisation need to be registered as a charity with the ACNC to fundraise?
Online and email fundraising challenges
Fundraising through a website or by email creates more complex compliance issues because the appeal can technically reach every state and territory simultaneously. If you run an online campaign, you may be required to comply with the regimes in all states and territories where donors are located.
Strategy for managing multiple jurisdictions
To reduce the administrative burden of multiple registrations, some organisations choose to limit their campaign to specific states and territories. This may involve either or both:
- clearly stating on campaign materials which states and territories the appeal relates to
- requiring donors to confirm they are in those specific states and territories before they are permitted to donate, and
- rejecting donations received from states or territories that the campaign was not targeting
By using this strategy and otherwise ensuring it does not engage in any fundraising related activities in the excluded states and territories, the organisation only needs to comply with the fundraising regulations in the jurisdictions listed in the campaign.
Why compliance matters
Failing to secure the proper authorities before engaging in fundraising can lead to fines by regulators under applicable fundraising laws.
Other consequences may include the following:
- freezing of funds by banks if they suspect you are fundraising without authority
- being named in a regulator's public warning
- for an ACNC-registered charity, the ACNC may take action where, for example, it believes the charity’s failure to comply with state or territory laws involved a failure of meet the ACNC Governance Standards (ACNC powers including removal of directors and trustees and revocation of charitable registration)
- loss of trust with donors
- termination of grant arrangements with institutional donors (depending on the terms of the arrangements)
- personal liability for board members or directors in some cases
Because fundraising laws are state-based, the ‘maximum’ penalty varies significantly across Australia.
Penalties for conducting regulated fundraising without the relevant licence are as follows:
- In New South Wales, the maximum fine is 200 penalty units, being $22,000
- In Victoria, fines can be up to 240 penalty units (for a corporation), being $48,842.40, or 120 penalty units, being $24,421.20, and/or up to 12 months imprisonment for an individual
- In Queensland, for a first offence, fines can be up to 20 penalty units being $3,338 or up to three months imprisonment and penalties can include civil action under consumer law
- In Western Australia, the maximum fine is $20,000
- In South Australia, the maximum fine is $8,000
- In the ACT, the maximum fine is 200 penalty units, being $32,000 for individuals and $162,000 for corporations, and/or two years imprisonment
- In Tasmania, the maximum penalty is up to $10,250
- Other penalties: There are various other possible penalties which may apply, including (in some states and territories) penalties for individuals who participate in unlawful fundraising and penalties (and even imprisonment in some cases) for breach of rules relating to the conduct of regulated fundraising
- Indexation: The ‘value’ of a penalty unit increases from time to time, which would result in an increase to the maximum penalty in the relevant state or territory. Penalty amounts in states like Victoria and the ACT increase every year (usually on July 1st) in line with inflation. The figures above are the current estimates for the 2025–2026 financial year.
View our guide to fundraising laws in Australia for more information.
The content on this webpage was last updated in May 2026 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
