Parliament has given a third reading to the Charities Amendment Bill, which makes three amendments to the Charities Act 2005.

The bill was originally introduced as part of the omnibus Statutes Amendment Bill, which is intended to make minor, technical and non-controversial legislative amendments.

However, following a submission which focused on one of the proposed Charities Act amendments, the Government Administration Committee decided to divide the charities provisions into a separate bill, and sought further submissions.

Some submissions were concerned that the proposed removal of "chief executive" from section 61(1)(a) of the principal Act would remove charities' rights of appeal against decisions of the chief executive. However, the committee determined that the proposed amendment was to correct a drafting error and section 61 does not confer a right of appeal, but simply sets out the types of order the High Court can make in determining an appeal. Consequently, the amendment would have no impact on charities’ rights of appeal.