Australian Mercy is happy to announce that after a two year process invovlving AusAID, the Australian Tax Office and Treasury, Australian Relief & Mercy Services Ltd has been authorized to operate an approved Overseas Aid Fund. (item 9.1.1). The ARMS Overseas Aid Fund has now been gazetted and is now listed on the AusAID site.
Essentially this changes the relationship we have had with our third party provider (World Relief Australia) whose fund we have used for the past several years in order to send tax deductible moneys to approved projects overseas. Australian Mercy is very grateful for the services World Relief have provided to it over many years, and look forward to our continued close co-operation in other ways as time goes on.
Formal operation of the ARMS Overseas Aid Fund will offically commence on September 1, 2012. All Australian Mercy overseas projects that were tax deductible under the World Relief arrangement have been migrated across to the ARMS Overseas Aid Fund by the Australian Mercy Board.
Donations of $2 or more to overseas projects that are covered by the fund are tax deductible in Australia, and can be made here.