Below is Chapter 1 of our ‘Private Ancillary Funds’ booklet. To read the other chapters of our booklet, click the links below:
- Chapter 2 – Brief history
- Chapter 3 – An overview of ancillary funds
- Chapter 4 – What is a PAF?
- Chapter 5 – Who can be a trustee of the PAF?
- Chapter 6 – How are PAFs regulated?
- Chapter 7 – What are the reporting requirements for a PAF?
- Chapter 8 – Governance
- Chapter 9 – Winding up a PAF
- Chapter 10 – Common questions about PAFs
- Chapter 11 – Are they a good option for you?
- Chapter 12 – Overview of a PAF
Introduction
Charitable giving can take many forms. Most of us do it on an ad hoc basis but there are many advantages to formalising your approach to strategic long-term giving. This booklet is for people who may be:
- Starting their philanthropic journey;
- Rethinking their approach to charitable giving;
- Hoping to build a relationship with one or more charitable organisations;
- Looking to make a bigger impact; or
- Seeking to give their family a larger role in their giving.
One way to achieve these goals is to establish a Private Ancillary Fund (a PAF) – your own charitable foundation that provides a link between you and the charitable organisations that you wish to support.
This booklet has been developed to assist you to understand
- What a PAF is;
- How it works; and
- Whether it is the best charitable strategy for you.
Giving back to the community
To date, your charitable giving has taken the form of volunteering, making a gift to an existing charity from your own pocket or leaving a gift to a specific charity in your Will. However, you have reached a turning point in your life where you wish to use your resources to make a more significant impact on the community without going so far as to establish your own charity.
Perhaps you have received an inheritance, sold a business, undergone a major health event or become more aware of an issue that you care about, either locally or globally. For those of you who have a focus on family, you may be looking for a mechanism for inter-generational giving which allows the whole family to become involved in philanthropy from an early age and contribute towards creating a family legacy.
A PAF is an effective way to use cash, property and investments to support charitable causes without providing services or undertaking charitable work yourself. A PAF requires you to consciously allocate a portion of your assets to philanthropy and, along with the benefits referred to above, you will be able to access the tax advantages offered by PAFs.
To download a PDF of our booklet, enter your email below.
The information contained in this post is current at the date of editing – 1 April 2026.
