We were recently asked about the legal requirements for the retention of financial records when an organisation winds up. Our basic understanding is that these records must be retained for 7 years. This in itself brings certain problems and potential Read more
Contributed by Parry Field Lawyers Get started with a Constitution Template Almost half of the Incorporated Societies in New Zealand are yet to re-register under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022. Is your society one of them? If you are preparing Read more
Understanding the Role A charitable trust exists to advance one or more charitable purposes, not private benefit, and its trustees are those legally responsible for making that happen. If the trust is incorporated as a charitable trust board, the board Read more
Updated 13 December 2025 Late in November we received a newsletter from lawyer Sue Barker which contained the following information: “In a new consultation paper issued on 14 November 2025, entitled Taxation and the not-for-profit sector: Targeted consultation on detailed design, IRD Read more
We recently came across an article with the above title. This time of year and the start of the new is a time when many boards are looking back and starting to think about strategic planning for the future (once Read more
Our friends at GoodNumbers have recently provided some advice on the above topic, a topic which can cause confusion or even disharmony in an organisation. The GoodNumbers article is entitled “What are Related Party Transactions? It starts: “What are transactions Read more
Website GOOD NUMBERS recently posted a guide entitled “How to open a Bank Account for your Charity”. The guide starts: “As many in the sector know, opening a bank account for a charity can be anything but straightforward. Bank staff Read more
Q. I am a member of an incorporated society. I have asked both the secretary and the president, at various times, for the opportunity to speak at a general meeting of the society. Each time, this has been denied. what Read more
“Charities cut ties to Sarah Ferguson over reported Epstein email” – 1 News 23 September 2025 The ideal patron today is an active ambassador for a charity’s vision, a responsible steward of their own and the charity’s reputation, and an Read more
Recent months have seen a large number of changes, in the regulatory sense, for NZ charities and non-profit organisations. We recently used an AI programme to check whether we are missing any changes and updates. Here we reproduce the response Read more
AI is ‘all the rage’ at the moment and used properly (and carefully) it can be a very useful tool. But there are potential pitfalls. Parry Field Lawyers have put together a number of resources aimed at helping organisations navigate Read more
Did you know that all registered charities must review their governance procedures (Rules, Constitution etc) every 3 years? Steven Moe of Parry Field Lawyers has published a blog on the subject. Entitled “Not ‘Just another Governance Burden for Charities”, the Read more