Bushfire fundraising

Declaration of the Victorian bushfires as a disaster

On 27 March 2025 the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer declared the recent Victorian bushfires a disaster for the purposes of establishing tax deductible disaster relief funds. 

This now means that organisations seeking to raise money in response to the bushfires can now apply to the ATO for a fast-tracked endorsement as an ‘Australian disaster relief fund’. If an application for endorsement is successful, all donations to this fund will be tax deductible for a period of 2 years from 29 January 2009.

For further information on applying to the ATO for a tax deductible fund, see:

Concessions for charitable fundraising following Victorian bushfires

GST on charitable events

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced GST concessions available for certain charitable fund-raising events in the wake of the recent Victorian bushfires.  The GST concession allows designated charitable institutions, government schools and gift-deductible groups to nominate fundraising events which would normally attract GST to instead be GST-free.  The ATO expects that surplus funds generated through the GST concession will allow organisations to generate greater financial assistance for distress relief following the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods. 

Note: The concession is not available for all fundraising activities and all organisations should contact the ATO to confirm their eligibility.  For further information from the ATO on the available tax concessions, see: 

Cash donations

In a similar initiative, the ATO has announced that ‘bucket donations’ of up to $10 provided in response to the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods are able to be claimed as a tax deduction in the 2008/09 year without the usual need to provide a receipt.  Donations over $10 will still require a receipt, however if the donation was made over the phone or online, a credit card statement or internet receipt will be sufficient. For further details from the ATO see:

Volunteer support grants

The Victorian Government has announced two new volunteer support grants to all areas affected by the bushfires. All not-for-profit groups that include volunteers in their activities are eligible.

These two grant programs are:

1. Victorian Volunteer Small Grants - Bushfire Relief 2009. Open to all bushfire affected communities throughout Victoria. The maximum amount available is $5000. Travel and equipment and material are now eligible.
   
2. Emergency Volunteer Support Grants - Bushfire Relief 2009. Open to all bushfire affected communities. This includes now areas of the DPCD Southern Metro region affected by the fires. The maximum amount available is $20,000. Travel and equipment and material are now eligible.

Both have simplified sets of guidelines (including items that can be funded, such as equipment and materials) and application/assessment processes, plus streamlined financial requirements.

For more information and application details see: