Foreword by Sue Woodward, AM, Commissioner ACNC
Findings are based on information from 53,641 Annual Information Statements submitted by charities for the 2024 reporting period.
Some key findings:
- Total sector employment grew, with charities employing 1.6 million staff, or 11% of Australia’s workforce, when compared with 2025 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) workforce data.
- That's an increase of 10.7%
- Registered charities reported that they engaged 3.9 million volunteers – the highest registered charity volunteer count ever reported
- Charities generated $239 billion in revenue, a significant 7.5% increase that surpassed growth in the wider economy. However, total sector expenses rose by 8.6%, to $231 billion, outpacing this revenue growth.
- Why did expenses rise? More people turned to charities for support as they struggled with cost of living pressures so, where they could, charities employed more staff to meet the demand. Yet basic operating costs for charities rose, including wages, insurance and utilities.
- Donations and bequests to charities reached $14.8 billion - the second highest ever. Government funding was the largest revenue source at $118 billion, while revenue from goods and services was $83 billion.
- Larger charities receive a disproportionate slice of the pie: Extra large charities (annual revenue of $100 million or more) made up just 0.6% of the sector. Yet they generated 57% of total sector revenue, received around 21% of donations and bequests, and held roughly half of all sector assets.
- 60% of all charities are small or extra small (less than $500,000 in annual revenue). Together, they generated just 1.4% of total sector revenue, received only 8.6% of all donations and bequests, and held less than 5% of sector assets
- Beneficiaries: 1. Adults – aged 25 to under 65 at 8.1%, 2. Youth – aged 15 to under 25’ at 7.8% and this year 3. Adults 65 and over at 6.9%
