Legal form
A trust governed by a trust deed, lodged with the ACNC as its governing document. The Australian Business Register records the entity as “The Trustee for Coffs Harbour Animal Rescue Trust”.
Log 01 About the trust
A trust for the wildlife of the Coffs Coast.
Coffs Harbour Animal Rescue Trust (CHART) is a registered charity in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. It raises money to support the rescue and rehabilitation of marine wildlife.
01 At a glance
The register entry, read like a dive log.
- Legal name
- Coffs Harbour Animal Rescue Trust
- Short name
- CHART
- ABN
- 49 974 310 425
- Regulator
- Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
- Registered charity since
- 30 June 2014
- Established
- 30 May 2012
- Charity subtype
- Advancing the natural environment
- Deductible Gift Recipient
- Endorsed from 1 January 2024
- NSW fundraising authority
- CFN/23375
- Where it works
- Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
- Charity size
- Small
- Financial year ends
- 30 June
Sources: ACNC Charity Register and ABN Lookup, checked 31 October 2026.
02 Purpose
In the trust’s own words.
On the ACNC Charity Register the trust sums up its activities in six words:
“Rescue and rehab of marine wildlife.”
Its trust deed, lodged with the ACNC as its governing document, sets out the purposes in more detail. A selection, quoted from clause 2.1:
- 2.1.2“To rescue, transport, treat, rehabilitate and release wildlife (including monitoring post release).”
- 2.1.3“To collect, transport, assess and rehabilitate rescued wildlife and the release of rescued wildlife back into the wild.”
- 2.1.5“Provide donations to any registered Australian charity with deductible gift recipient status, where at least one of the charity’s purposes includes the rescue or rehabilitation of wildlife.”
- 2.1.6“Research activities relevant to the field of wildlife health, ecology and disease.”
- 2.1.7“To educate the community in matters of conservation by raising awareness of wildlife and habitat health.”
- 2.1.8“To promote biodiversity and the conservation of wildlife.”
03 The place
Off the coast: the Solitary Islands Marine Park.
Coffs Harbour looks out over the Solitary Islands Marine Park, a NSW marine park declared in 1998. It covers more than 70,000 hectares along about 100 km of coast, from the Sandon River entrance south to Muttonbird Island at Coffs Harbour.
Warm currents from the tropics meet cooler southern water here, so tropical, subtropical and temperate marine life share the same reefs and islands.
04 How it is run
A charitable trust, run by a committee.
The people responsible
The trust has a corporate trustee. The ACNC register lists five Responsible People: committee members, a director and a secretary. The trust reported no paid employees in its 2025 statement.
The public fund
Under the deed, gifts go to the trust’s public fund, the Coffs Harbour Animal Rescue Fund. It has its own bank account, kept separate from the trust’s other money, and is overseen by a management committee appointed by the trust.
Not for profit: the deed says the trust’s income and property must be used solely for its purposes, and never paid as profit to members, directors or trustees.
05 Key dates
From the register.
ABN 49 974 310 425 becomes active.
The trust is established.
Registered as a charity with the ACNC, subtype “advancing the natural environment”. Income tax exemption and GST concession follow from 1 July 2014.
Three business names are registered to the trust: Dolphin Marine Rescue Animal Rehabilitation Trust, Dolphin Marine Magic & Animal Rehabilitation Trust, and Dolphin Marine Magic & Animal Rehab Trust.
Endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997).
Annual statements and financial reports for 2024 and 2025 received by the ACNC.
06 Where the money goes
The figures, in the open.
From the trust’s Annual Information Statement and financial report for the year 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, as published on the ACNC Charity Register.
Income
$48,300
All from donations and bequests
Spending
$72,319
Total expenses for the year
Grants and donations paid
$71,430
For use in Australia
Net assets
$24,962
At 30 June 2025
- Grants and donations paid $71,430
- Everything else (bank fees, vet costs, advertising, other) $889
Spending was higher than income that year. The difference came from money the trust held at the start of the year: its net assets went from $48,981 to $24,962.
| Year to 30 June | Income | Spending | Surplus or deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48,300 | 72,319 | (24,019) |
| 2024 | 46,863 | 11,750 | 35,113 |
2024 spending is cost of sales ($9,384) plus expenditure ($2,366), from the comparative column of the 2025 financial report. Read the statements on the ACNC register
07 Contact
Get in touch.
Registered address
65 Orlando St
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Australia
This is the address the trust gives on the ACNC Charity Register. No opening hours are published, so please get in touch before visiting.
Email and phone
manager@ccws.org.au
0468 248 207
These are the contact details listed on the trust's entry in the ACNC Charity Register.
Injured marine wildlife?
The trust is not an emergency service. Call ORRCA on (02) 9415 3333 for whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs, or WIRES on 1300 094 737 for sea turtles, seabirds and other native wildlife. Both lines are open 24/7.