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The definition of charitable organization, and of charity, varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates. The regulation, tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also varies. The definition of charity in Australia is derived through English common law, originally from the Charitable Uses Act 1601, and then through several centuries of case law based upon it. In 2002, the Federal Government established an inquiry into the definition of a charity. That inquiry proposed that the government should legislate a definition of a charity, based on the principles developed through case law. This resulted in the Charities Bill 2003. The Bill incorporated a number of provisions, such as limitations on charities being involved in political campaigning, which many charities saw as an unwelcome departure from the case law. The government then appointed a Board of the Taxation inquiry to consult with charities on the Bill. As a result of widespread criticism from charities, the Government decided to abandon the Bill. As a result, the government then introduced what became the Extension of Charitable Purpose Act 2004. This Bill did not attempt to codify the definition of a charitable purpose; it merely sought to clarify that certain purposes were indeed charitable, whose charitable status had been subject to legal doubts. These purposes were childcare; self-help groups; closed/contemplative religious orders.[1] Under Australian law, there is no centralised system of government regulation or recognition for charities. The notion of a charity touches upon several distinct areas of the law; it is up to each individual agency to decide on what is a charity with respect to the laws it is administering. If an entity disagrees with the decision of the agency, it can challenge it through the Courts. It is possible for an entity to be recognised as a charity by some agencies but not others. For example, in the early 1980s, Scientology was recognised as a religious charity by the governments of most States and Territories, but the Victorian taxation system refused recognition, until Scientology successfully challenged that decision through the courts - see Church of the New Faith for more.
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