What is a "charitable institution" for tax purposes?

It is important for not-for-profit organisations to be recognised as a charitable institution by the Tax Office in order to obtain income tax relief.

The ATO recently funded a test case to clarify when "political" and public advocacy activity would disqualify an organisation as a charity.

In Victorian Women Lawyers’ Association Inc v Commissioner of Taxation [2008] FCA 983 the Federal Court concluded that the organisation's public activity was within its objects and that it was a a charitable institution, being an organisation whose purposes are beneficial to the community according to the established definition of a "charitable institution".