Every registered Irish charity has to comply with the Charities Governance Code and report on it each year. Here's what the Code asks for, and how you show you're meeting it.
The short version
- The Code is published by the Charities Regulator and applies to every registered charity in Ireland.
- It's built on six principles, underpinned by core standards (every charity) and additional standards (larger or more complex charities).
- You declare compliance each year through your annual report, backed by a Compliance Record Form the board signs off.
- Compliance isn't a tick-box — for each standard you should be able to point at evidence: a policy, a minute, a register, a signed document.
What the Code is
The Charities Governance Code sets out the minimum standards a charity should meet to manage and control its activities well. It was introduced by the Charities Regulator, with full compliance expected from 2020 and the first reporting in 2021. Compliance is mandatory for registered charities — and it's reported publicly through your annual report.
The Code is principles-led rather than a rulebook: it describes outcomes good governance produces and asks you to show how your charity achieves them, proportionate to your size and complexity.
The six principles
- Advancing charitable purpose — being clear on your purpose and that everything you do works toward it.
- Behaving with integrity — agreed values, managing conflicts of interest, a code of conduct.
- Leading people — clear roles for the board, staff and volunteers, and how they're supported.
- Exercising control — knowing the legal rules that apply and keeping proper financial and risk controls.
- Working effectively — a board that's the right size and mix, meets properly, and reviews its own performance.
- Being accountable and transparent — being open with funders, beneficiaries and the public.
Core vs additional standards
Under the six principles sit a set of standards, in two tiers:
- Core standards — these apply to every charity, whatever its size.
- Additional standards — these apply to charities that are larger or more complex (for example, those with significant income or employees). They expect more formality — written policies, documented reviews, structured oversight.
Which tier you're in drives how much you need to document. A small volunteer-run charity meets the core standards; a charity with staff and substantial funding takes on the additional ones too. The current standards and the split are maintained by the Regulator — check the live version when you self-assess.
How you report compliance
- You complete a Compliance Record Form (CRF) — working through each standard and recording how your charity meets it (or the steps you're taking to).
- The board reviews and signs off the CRF — it's a board responsibility, not a back-office task.
- You then declare compliance in your annual report to the Charities Regulator.
What "compliance" looks like in practice
For each standard, the question is the same: if someone asked, could you show it? In practice that means having, and being able to produce:
- A governing document (constitution) and a clear statement of charitable purpose.
- Core policies — conflicts of interest, financial controls, safeguarding where relevant, risk management.
- A register of board members, terms, and a conflicts-of-interest register.
- Minutes that show decisions being made, risks reviewed and policies adopted.
- A risk register and evidence the board reviews it.
The Code doesn't ask for more paperwork for its own sake — it asks that the things a well-run charity already does are written down and findable.
Common pitfalls
- Treating it as an annual scramble. Compliance is continuous; the report is just the snapshot. Keep the evidence current through the year.
- Policies with no proof of use. A policy the board never reviewed or applied is weak evidence — the minute showing it in action is what counts.
- The wrong tier. Charities that have grown sometimes still self-assess against core standards only, when the additional ones now apply.
- Board left out. The CRF is the board's to own and sign — delegating it entirely to staff misses the point of the Code.
Official sources
This guide is a plain-English overview. For the current Code, standards and forms, go to:
How EasyGovernance handles this
EasyGovernance maps the Code to your charity, turns each standard into the documents, registers and reviews that evidence it, and assembles your compliance record as you go — kept in your vault, ready to report.
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This guide is general information, not legal or governance advice. The Code and its standards are maintained by the Charities Regulator and can change — check the current version before you rely on it.