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Charitable Trusts Act 1957

Miscellaneous provisions

61A: Trusts for recreational and similar purposes

You could also call this:

“Recreational facilities for the community can be charitable if they help people”

You should know that it’s considered charitable to provide or help provide facilities for recreation or leisure activities if they are provided for the good of society. However, these facilities must still benefit the public to be considered charitable.

For these facilities to be seen as good for society, they need to be provided to improve the living conditions of the people they’re mainly meant for. Also, either the people using them should need these facilities because of things like their age, health, poverty, or social situation, or the facilities should be open to everyone.

This idea of charitable recreation facilities includes places like public halls, community centres, and women’s institutes. It also covers providing and maintaining grounds and buildings for recreation or leisure, as well as organising activities for these purposes.

This law doesn’t limit what was already considered charitable before it was made. It also doesn’t change anything that was done before 26 June 1963, or affect any court decisions made before this section of the law came into effect.

Remember, this law doesn’t make anything charitable if it wasn’t already considered so before this section was added, except in some specific cases.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM309995.

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Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions

61ATrusts for recreational and similar purposes

  1. Subject to the provisions of this section, it shall for all purposes be and be deemed always to have been charitable to provide, or assist in the provision of, facilities for recreation or other leisure-time occupation, if the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare:

    provided that nothing in this section shall be taken to derogate from the principle that a trust or institution to be charitable must be for the public benefit.

  2. The requirement of subsection (1) that the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare shall not be treated as satisfied unless—

  3. the facilities are provided with the purpose of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily intended; and
    1. either—
      1. those persons have need of such facilities as aforesaid by reason of their youth, age, infirmity, disablement, poverty, race, occupation, or social or economic circumstances; or
        1. the facilities are to be available to the members of the public at large or to the male or female members of the public at large.

        2. Without restricting the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section it is hereby declared that, subject to the said requirement, subsection (1) applies to the provision of facilities at public halls, community centres, and women's institutes, and to the provision and maintenance of grounds and buildings to be used for purposes of recreation or leisure-time occupation, and extends to the provision of facilities for those purposes by the organising of any activity.

        3. Nothing in this section shall be taken to restrict the purposes which would be regarded as charitable if this section had not been passed.

        4. Nothing in this section shall—

        5. apply to make charitable any trust, or validate any disposition, of property if before 26 June 1963 that property or any property representing or forming part of it, or any income arising from any such property, has been paid or conveyed to, or applied for the benefit of, or set apart for, the persons entitled by reason of the invalidity of the trust or disposition; or
          1. affect any order or judgment made or given before the commencement of this section; or
            1. require anything properly done before that day, or anything done or to be done in pursuance of a contract entered into before that day, to be treated for any purpose as wrongful or ineffectual.

              1. Except as provided in subsection (7), nothing in this section shall require anything to be treated for the purposes of any enactment as having been charitable at a time before the date of the commencement of this section, so as to invalidate anything done or any determination given before that date.

              2. Repealed
              Compare
              • Recreational Charities Act 1958 ss 1, 3(1)–(3) (UK)
              Notes
              • Section 61A: inserted, on , by section 3 of the Charitable Trusts Amendment Act 1963 (1963 No 21).
              • Section 61A(7): repealed, on , by section 101(1) of the Stamp and Cheque Duties Act 1971 (1971 No 51).