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Aid/Watch does good work. The Sydney-based NGO monitors Australian and multinational aid programs overseas to ensure the recipients are getting a bang for the buck they are meant to be receiving from donors. But it is not a charity for the purposes of tax laws in Australia, which means that donations to it are not tax deductible for the donor, according to a ruling by the Federal Court last week.

A test case decision handed down this week which applies a very restrictive definition of what is a ‘charitable’ organisation for taxation purposes will have ramifications throughout the charitable sector. On appeal, the full Federal Court found in favour of the Australian Tax Office and stripped charitable status from a small charity, Aid/Watch, that monitors Australia’s international aid programs

The Australian Taxation Office has succeeded in stripping AID/WATCH of its charitable status, after the full Federal Court ruled that the organisation's main purpose was political.