What you can do if you disagree with our decisions

If you disagree with a decision we have made about your charity there are steps you can take to challenge that decision.

Background

In the course of its work Charities Services makes a range of decisions. These include decisions to register or deregister charities, to publish or restrict details about charities on the public Register, to backdate the effective date of registration of charities, or to grant exemptions from compliance with the Charities Act 2005.

When we make decisions, we take a lot of trouble to ensure we get them right and that each decision is a proper exercise of our powers and consistent with our statutory objectives.

We recognise, however, that from time to time people may not agree with the decisions we have made. If you disagree with a decision we have made about your charity there are steps you can take to challenge that decision.

Contact us first

We recommend that the first step you should take is to contact us. This is because in some cases we may be able to help you resolve the situation – for example, we may be able to suggest an alternative way to achieve the end result that you are seeking.

What will happen if your application for registration is declined?

If, after discussions with you, we decide to decline your organisation's application for registration we will:

  • write to you to formally advise you of our decision
  • tell you the reasons for our decision
  • inform you that you have the option to lodge an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court within 20 working days of the date of our letter.

What will happen if your request to restrict information on the public Register is declined?

If, after discussions with you, we decide to decline your request to restrict information from the public, we will:

  • write to you to formally advise you of our decision
  • tell you the reasons for our decision
  • publish the information on the Register.

We will also inform you of the option of voluntary deregistration which will remove your charity from the Register.

If you disagree with our decision, you may seek a judicial review of the decision in the High Court or make a complaint to the Ombudsman. 

See the Restricting information page for more information.

What will happen if we decide to remove your charity from the Register?

If, after discussions with you, we decide to deregister your charity we will:

  • write to you to formally advise you of our decision
  • tell you the reasons for our decision
  • inform you that you have the option to lodge an appeal with the Registrar of the High Court within 20 working days of the date of our letter.

See the Deregistration page for more information.