On 3 July 2013 the Administrative Appeals Tribunal upheld the decision of the Commissioner of Taxation to refuse endorsement of Home Health Pty Ltd as a public benevolent institution or a charitable institution.

Home Health Pty Ltd (Home Health), a mental health services provider is a proprietary company incorporated on 9 June 1997. The Tribunal refused endorsement on the basis that Home Health is not an ‘institution’.

The Tribunal considered the elements of recognising a ‘public benevolent institution’ as set out in Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation [1931] HCA 20. Perhaps self-explanatory, but significant nonetheless, a public benevolent institution must be: (i) public, (ii) benevolent and (iii) an institution.

Home Health satisfied the “public” requirement as the relief provided by the organisation was directed to a sufficiently large sector of the community.Continue Reading Home Health Pty Ltd – What is an “Institution”?