ACNC Portal-Ready Answers

The purposes of Life Without Debt Ltd (the Company) are charitable and are limited to the following:

(a) to relieve the financial, physical, mental and emotional distress suffered by Australians who have a terminal illness, and by their immediate families and dependants, by providing:

• professional negotiation with creditors on grounds of financial hardship in accordance with sections 72–75 of the National Credit Code and equivalent conduct standards under the Banking Code of Practice;
• direct financial relief for essential expenses (including but not limited to household bills, medical co-payments, groceries, transport, and funeral costs) subject to caps and controls in the Company's Direct Relief Policy;
• bounded direct payoff of debts where such payoff is the most effective form of relief for the individual beneficiary, subject to per-event and per-year caps in the Direct Relief Policy; and
• advocacy on behalf of the beneficiary class in dealings with creditors, government agencies, and other third parties;

(b) to advance the health of Australians affected by terminal illness by mitigating the financial-distress determinants of poor health outcomes at end-of-life;

(c) to promote public understanding of the intersection of terminal illness and consumer debt in Australia through research, publications, submissions to inquiries, and public education; and

(d) such other charitable purposes ancillary or incidental to the foregoing as the Directors determine.

The Company is not carried on for the profit or gain of its Members. Its income and property must be applied solely towards the purposes above and, on winding-up, any surplus must be transferred to another charity with similar purposes as required by clause 26–29 of the Constitution and section 30-125(6) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Tick:

• ☑ purpose of advancing health (s.12(1)(b));
• ☑ purpose of relieving the necessitous circumstances of others (s.12(1)(e));
• ☑ purpose of preventing and relieving sickness, disease or human suffering (part of PBI test);
• ☐ purpose of advancing education — not primary;
• ☑ any other purpose beneficial to the general public (s.12(1)(l)) — as a safety-net for the ancillary advocacy purpose.

The Company will operate on an Option C hybrid model in which LWD staff perform intake, assessment, and advocacy, and regulated third parties (financial counsellors registered under the ASIC "financial counselling agency" exemption, ASIC-licensed credit assistance providers, and solicitors) perform any activity that engages the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth). Specifically:

1. Beneficiary intake and eligibility assessment. Applications from Australian residents with a terminal illness (as defined by two medical practitioners, including a specialist, giving a life expectancy of 24 months or less — the SIS Reg 6.01A benchmark) are received via referral from health-care providers, financial counsellors, palliative-care services, and community-legal centres. Eligibility is verified against documentary evidence of diagnosis and financial position.
2. Hardship-negotiation service. LWD engages a partner financial-counselling agency or ASIC-licensed credit assistance provider (paid or in-kind under formal referral agreement) to negotiate with creditors under sections 72–75 of the National Credit Code and equivalent Banking Code provisions.
3. Direct financial relief. Payments for essential household expenses, medical co-payments, and funeral costs are made from the operating account (not the Gift Fund) subject to the caps and dual-signatory requirements in the Direct Relief Policy.
4. Direct debt payoff. Where debt payoff is the most effective form of relief, LWD makes bounded direct payments to creditors on behalf of the beneficiary, subject to the Direct Relief Policy caps.
5. Advocacy. Written advocacy to creditors, superannuation funds, life-insurance providers, and government agencies to secure the beneficiary's entitlements (e.g. early access to superannuation on terminal-medical-condition grounds).
6. Public education. Publications, submissions to parliamentary inquiries, and public-facing materials on the intersection of terminal illness and consumer debt.
7. Fundraising. Tax-deductible donations to the Company's dedicated Gift Fund (established under clause 20 of the Constitution and s.30-130 of the ITAA 1997).

All activities will be conducted in Australia. The Company will not carry on activities overseas.

Primary beneficiary class: Australian residents who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. "Terminal illness" is defined in the Company's beneficiary policy by reference to regulation 6.01A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994, being: two medical practitioners (at least one a specialist practising in an area related to the illness or injury) have certified that the person suffers from an illness or has incurred an injury that is likely to result in death within 24 months.

Secondary beneficiary class: the immediate family and dependants of a member of the primary class, where relief to them advances the primary purpose (e.g. household bills paid on behalf of a spouse/carer, or funeral cost relief for a bereaved family). Access to the secondary class is by referral only.

Beneficiary population estimate (Year 1): approximately [estimate] individuals per year, based on ABS mortality data and referral capacity of partner financial-counselling and palliative-care services.

The Company applies for the following charity subtypes under section 25-5(5) of the ACNC Act 2012:

• ☑ Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) — dominant subtype.
• ☑ Advancing health — secondary subtype for the health-outcome purposes.

See the Public Benefit Memo for the PBI evidence pack, including alignment with the current ACNC Commissioner's Interpretation Statement on PBIs (29 September 2025), the leading cases Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd v FCT (1931), Cairnmillar Institute v FCT (1990), The Marriage Guidance Council (1990), and the Full Federal Court decision in Global Citizen Ltd v FCT (2020).