Religious Groups

We have been assisting charitable clients throughout New Zealand and internationally for many decades.

We have contributed to leading textbooks on charities law in New Zealand and also are regular contributors to Charity Law conferences and other events in New Zealand and Australia.

Religious groups have contributed so much to life in this country we love – Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Planting or running a spiritual group is not without challenges though. The exciting prospect of facilitating the gathering of believers comes with a number of important considerations, many of which touch on complex areas of New Zealand Law. Having a properly established legal structure and system of governance, as well as an understanding of financial, employment, governance and key policy obligations will give a religious group the best chance at succeeding.

We specialise in the representation of for purpose organisations and charities/tax-exempt organisations.  Our For Purpose team represents a wide variety of entity types including charities, charitable trusts, social enterprises, social welfare organisations, sports groups, public and private schools, private foundations (whether company-sponsored or family-endowed), tertiary institutions, churches and religious organisations as well as organisations that support this sector.

Check out some of our testimonials from former clients here.

We have a lot of experience in helping groups like this set up and have even written a legal handbook on the topic – while written with a focus for Churches the content is relevant to any group looking to set up that wants to consider spiritual dimensions when setting up.  You can access it by clicking on the picture below:

We have experience in all legal aspects of churches including

  • Setting up new groups including businesses and trusts
  • Employment
  • Policies
  • Disputes
  • Charitable Trust matters
  • Governance

Contact one of our church experts

Need more information? See our latest blogs on church matters