Which charities does Section 167 apply to?
Section 167 applies to institutions that operate in or from Northern Ireland (NI) but are not established under its law and therefore cannot register as charities with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. This is applicable to charities that operate in NI but which are already registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority in the South or with the Charity Commission for England and Wales or with OSCR in Scotland.
The Charity Commission has been maintaining a list of these organisations who have been waiting to register under Section 167 but was unable to register them as it needed further clarity in legislation as the 2008 Act does not provide the detail of how this would work in practice. Organisations governed by the law of another jurisdiction but operate in Northern Ireland | The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
Rationale for the Department's decision
In the executive summary of its report, the Department has concluded that
"..commencement would create a two-tier landscape and a false impression of oversight and regulation by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (the Commission) for organisations already regulated elsewhere."
The Department believes that repealing Section 167 of the Charities Act will avoid duplicative registers and also the administrative burden on charities and the Charity Commission. It has stated that:
"Repealing s167 will allow organisations to either register as Northern Ireland charities under s16 (if they require Northern Ireland recognition) or continue under their home-jurisdiction regulation with the ability to continue to operate for charitable purposes in or from Northern Ireland."
The Department proposes to repeal Section 167 in the Charities Bill which should be due for consultation at the end of this year or early next year. The consultation report on Section 167 can be accessed from Department for Communities Section 167 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008
NICVA's response to the 2025 consultation can be found at NICVA's response to Section 167 consultation | NICVA
