Workplace giving in Australia is a payroll deduction scheme administered through the ATO, not a donation-page feature. Here is what matters for your charity.
- Only DGR-endorsed charities can receive workplace giving donations. No DGR status, no eligibility.
- Donors do not get a receipt from you. Their evidence is their annual income statement or a summary from their employer.
- Money arrives as a lump sum from the employer or an intermediary, not through your donation page. Reconciliation is the real job.
- Uptake is low: fewer than 1 in 20 eligible employees actually participates (WGA 2024). Set realistic expectations before pitching an employer.
- Zeffy does not process payroll deductions. Its role here is recording the lump-sum deposits so your donor records stay complete.
Workplace giving sounds like a reliable income stream for charities. And for some organisations it is, just not in the way most fundraisers imagine when they first encounter it.
In Australia, workplace giving is a formal payroll arrangement governed by the ATO. Money moves directly from an employee's pay to your charity before tax is calculated, and your charity receives it as a bulk transfer, usually once a month, from the employer or a third-party intermediary. There is no donate button, no online form, and no receipt you need to send. Understanding those mechanics is the first step to making the channel work, or at least setting honest expectations for your board.
In this article:
What workplace giving actually is in Australia
A workplace giving program is a simple arrangement where an employee regularly donates part of their pre-tax pay to a charity that holds Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. The employer deducts the chosen amount each payday and forwards it to the charity. The employee gets the tax benefit immediately through a reduction in PAYG withholding rather than waiting until they lodge their tax return at the end of the financial year.
The ATO describes it this way: "Workplace giving is an optional, simple and effective way for employees to regularly donate to charities or organisations that are entitled to receive tax-deductible donations." (ATO, Workplace giving programs)
Three parties are always involved: the employee-donor who chooses the charity and the amount, the employer who runs the deduction and payment process, and your charity as the recipient DGR. All three need to participate for the arrangement to work.
How the pre-tax mechanic works (and why donors do not get a receipt from you)
The ATO explains the employee-side process plainly: "If your employer offers workplace giving, you can choose your preferred charities from a selection and the amount to donate. Your employer then pays the donation directly to the charities each payday." (ATO, Workplace giving programs for employees)
The tax benefit works differently from an ordinary donation. Instead of the employee donating from after-tax pay and then claiming a deduction when they lodge their return, the employer reduces the amount of PAYG withholding at the time of each pay. The employee sees a lower tax withheld each fortnight or month, and their annual income statement from the employer reflects the total donated during the year.
This is why your charity does not issue a receipt. The ATO is explicit: "A workplace giving program is an arrangement where your employer sends your gift to a DGR. If you give through a workplace giving program, the DGR doesn't send you a receipt." (ATO, Gifts and donations)
The employee's evidence is their annual income statement or a summary provided by the employer, not a charity-issued tax receipt. If a donor contacts your charity asking for a receipt for their workplace giving donations, the honest answer is that you cannot issue one and they should request a summary from their payroll team.
Workplace giving vs salary sacrifice: an important distinction
These two arrangements are often confused, and getting them wrong creates problems for both the employee and the employer.
The ATO is clear: "Employers can collect money for you by setting up a workplace giving or salary sacrifice arrangement for their employees. It is important that the employer understands the difference between the two types of arrangements." (ATO, Workplace giving and salary sacrifice arrangements)
With workplace giving, the donation comes from the employee's taxable income after salary is earned but before income tax is calculated. The employee can claim the deduction on their personal income tax return.
With a salary sacrifice arrangement, the employee forgoes part of their pre-tax salary, which reduces their taxable income. Contributions made under a salary sacrifice arrangement are treated differently and are generally not deductible by the employee on their personal return, because the income was never counted as theirs in the first place. Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) concessions for certain NFPs may apply to salary sacrifice, which is a separate consideration entirely.
If an employer asks your charity whether they should set up workplace giving or salary sacrifice, point them to the ATO's comparison page and suggest they speak to their tax adviser. Your charity's job is to be an eligible recipient, not to structure the employer's payroll.
Who can receive workplace giving: the DGR gate
Only organisations with DGR endorsement from the ATO can participate in a workplace giving program. ACNC registration alone is not enough. Approximately 41.5% of registered Australian charities hold DGR status, so if your charity is among the other 58.5%, you are not currently eligible.
The ATO requires employers to confirm that participating charities have ongoing DGR status: "Your employer must ensure the participating charities or other organisations have ongoing DGR status. You can check the DGR status of an organisation at ABN Look-up: Deductible gift recipients." (ATO, Workplace giving programs for employees)
Both you and the employer can verify DGR status at any time on ABN Lookup. It is worth checking your own listing before approaching an employer, and keeping a note of your DGR category and endorsement date.
If your charity does not yet hold DGR status, the path to eligibility runs through the ATO. The ACNC's DGR factsheet is a useful starting point, and the DGR categories listed on the ATO website tell you which of the 52 categories you might qualify under.
What workplace giving looks like on your side: lump sums, reports and reconciliation
This is where most charity fundraisers get a surprise. Workplace giving does not arrive through your donation page. It does not create a donor record in your CRM automatically. It typically arrives as a single bulk bank transfer from the employer, covering multiple employee-donors, on a monthly or quarterly cycle.
The ATO is also clear about privacy: "Employee workplace giving information is subject to privacy laws. You cannot release information to participating charities without the express written permission of each employee." (ATO, Workplace giving programs)
In practice, this means you may receive a payment with no donor breakdown at all, or a report listing only first names and total amounts where employees have consented to share that information. You cannot assume you will know who gave what. Larger employers using a workplace-giving intermediary (such as an employee-giving platform) may provide a more detailed report, but again, only to the extent employees have consented.
Your reconciliation job looks like this:
- 1. Receive the bank transfer and note the date, amount, and remitter name.
- 2. Cross-reference against the employer's report (if one was provided).
- 3. Create an offline or manual transaction record for the total amount, tagged to a "workplace giving" campaign or income category.
- 4. If individual donor identities were shared with consent, link each portion to the relevant donor record. If not, record the full amount against the employer as the source.
- 5. Do not issue individual tax receipts. The donor's evidence is their payroll summary from the employer, not a receipt from you.
- 6. File the employer's report alongside the bank statement for audit purposes.
How to prepare your charity to receive workplace giving well
Before an employer can add your charity to their workplace giving program, they will typically need a few things from you:
- Your charity's full registered name as it appears on the ACNC Charity Register.
- Confirmation of your DGR status and DGR category (the employer needs this for their PAYG withholding records).
- A bank account name and BSB/account number for the transfers.
- A contact name and email for the payroll or finance team to send reports to.
Some employers will also ask for a brief description of your work and a logo for their internal program portal. Have these ready in a simple one-page document so you can respond quickly when an employer asks.
It is also worth reviewing how your bank account and accounting records are set up before the first payment arrives. If your accounting software does not have a "workplace giving" income category, create one now. Tidy records make audits easier and give your board a clear view of the channel's actual contribution.
Set realistic expectations: how much workplace giving is actually used
Before dedicating significant time to pursuing workplace giving, it is worth understanding the scale of the channel in Australia.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's philanthropy report, citing Workplace Giving Australia (WGA) 2024 research: despite the low uptake in workplace giving, there were more than 6,000 employers with a total of 4.7 million employees having access to a workplace giving program, yet overall participation was below 5%.
ATO data from 2020-21 tells a similar story: 4.3 million people were employed at organisations with a workplace giving program, but only 206,954 employees actually participated, a participation rate of 4.7 per cent.
This does not mean the channel is worthless. For a charity with a strong corporate relationship, workplace giving can produce a steady, low-maintenance income stream over many years. But it is a slow, relationship-led channel. It takes time to get listed on an employer's program, time for employees to opt in, and time for the amounts to grow. It is not a substitute for a strong EOFY fundraising appeal or an active regular giving program.
How to approach an employer (honestly, and with a long lead time)
The AIHW notes the value proposition for employers is real: "From the employer perspective, workplace giving enhances staff engagement, increases employee pride and demonstrates the company's commitment to the community. A further incentive is that some employers match staff donations." (AIHW, Philanthropy and charitable giving)
When you approach an employer, lead with those benefits, not just the need. Here are practical points to build your pitch around:
- June is Workplace Giving Month in Australia, a natural moment to raise the conversation with a corporate contact.
- Many employers already have a giving program. If so, the conversation is about getting your charity listed as a recipient option, which is often simpler than setting up a new program.
- Matched giving is discretionary and not universal, but it is a real possibility with some employers. If the employer matches, a $50 employee donation becomes $100 to your charity. Worth raising, but do not promise it to donors before the employer commits.
- Be honest about the time required. Adding a new charity to a workplace giving program can take several months, particularly at larger corporates with annual review cycles for their charity partners.
- Keep the relationship warm even when no program is in place. A direct corporate donation or a one-off staff fundraiser can be the starting point before a formal workplace giving arrangement is set up.
Matched giving: what it is and how to record it without double-counting
Matched giving is when an employer agrees to contribute an additional amount alongside their employees' donations, typically dollar-for-dollar up to a set limit. It is separate from the payroll deduction and is treated as a corporate donation from the employer, not as part of the workplace giving arrangement.
From a record-keeping perspective, this distinction matters:
- The employee-donor's payroll deduction is recorded against the employee (where consent allows) or against the employer as a bulk workplace-giving receipt.
- The employer's matched contribution is a separate corporate donation. Record it separately, with its own transaction date and amount. Issue a standard acknowledgement to the employer's accounts team.
- Do not aggregate the two into one lump sum in your records. They are different income types with different donor attributions.
- The employer's matched donation is a donation from a company, not from an individual. Whether it is tax-deductible to the company depends on the company's own tax position, not on anything you issue. You do not provide tax advice. You provide an ABN and, if asked, an acknowledgement letter.
GST, invoices and the paperwork corporates will ask for
Workplace-giving payroll donations are gifts and generally sit outside GST. But when a corporate asks for a "tax invoice" for their matched donation or a sponsorship payment, the picture is different.
If your charity is GST-registered, a corporate finance team may expect a tax invoice that shows:
- Your charity's name and ABN.
- The invoice date and a unique invoice number.
- A description of the payment (e.g. "Corporate donation, June 2026").
- The amount, with GST shown separately if GST applies.
Whether GST applies to a particular payment from a corporate depends on the nature of the arrangement. A straightforward gift or donation is generally not subject to GST. A sponsorship that provides a commercial benefit to the sponsor (signage, naming rights, advertising) may be treated as a taxable supply. If you are unsure, check the ATO's not-for-profit organisations hub or speak to your accountant before issuing an invoice. Do not guess.
For ordinary workplace-giving payments that arrive as a bulk transfer from an employer, no invoice is typically required from your end. The employer initiates the payment; your job is to receive it and record it correctly.
If you need free legal guidance on setting up a corporate giving arrangement, Justice Connect's Not-for-profit Law service offers free resources for Australian NFPs.
Workplace giving vs a regular monthly donation: which to encourage
If a supporter tells you they want to give regularly and asks what to do, the honest answer is that a regular monthly donation through your own donation page is simpler, faster, and more controllable than workplace giving, for both of you.
With a regular donation:
- The donor sets it up directly through your website.
- You receive the funds to your own account.
- You can issue a tax receipt for each donation (if your charity is DGR-endorsed).
- You have the donor's details, contact history, and giving record in one place.
- The donor can update, pause, or cancel directly with you.
With workplace giving:
- Setup depends on the employer offering a program and listing your charity.
- Funds arrive as a bulk payment with limited donor-level visibility.
- No receipt from you; the employer provides the donor's evidence.
- Changes to the donation amount require the donor to go through their payroll team.
Workplace giving makes most sense for a supporter who specifically wants to use their employer's program, often because the employer offers matched giving that doubles the value. For everyone else, a tax-deductible regular giving arrangement run through your own platform is the simpler path.
Common mistakes to avoid
Charities new to workplace giving tend to make a handful of the same errors. Here are the ones worth knowing in advance.
Issuing receipts for workplace-giving donations. Do not do this. The donor's evidence is from their employer, not from you. Issuing a receipt could lead the donor to attempt a double-deduction, which creates problems at tax time.
Assuming you need to be involved in setting up the program. The employer sets up the program. Your role is to confirm your ABN and DGR status, provide bank details, and receive funds. You do not co-administer the payroll arrangement.
Treating the bulk payment as general revenue without reconciliation. The payment needs to be tagged to the correct income category and, where donor-level detail is available with consent, matched to individual donor records. Unreconciled income creates audit risk.
Conflating workplace giving with salary sacrifice. These are different arrangements with different tax treatments. If an employee asks you which they should use, direct them to the ATO's comparison page and their employer or tax adviser.
Over-investing in employer outreach before checking DGR status. Confirm your DGR endorsement on ABN Lookup before approaching any employer. A program setup that stalls because the charity is not DGR-endorsed wastes everyone's time.
Assuming donor identities will be shared. Privacy law governs what the employer can tell you about individual employee-donors. Build your reconciliation process on the assumption that you may only receive a total amount, not a named donor list.
Treating workplace giving as a quick-win acquisition channel. It is not. Allow at minimum six months from first employer conversation to first payment, and expect low individual amounts in the early months. It is a long-term relationship, not a campaign.
Recording workplace-giving income in Zeffy
Zeffy is not a workplace-giving platform. Payroll deductions do not flow through Zeffy, and Zeffy does not integrate with any employer workplace-giving intermediary. That boundary is important to understand before you build a process around it.
What Zeffy can do is help you keep your overall donor and revenue records complete so that workplace-giving income does not sit outside your fundraising picture. When a lump-sum payment arrives from an employer:
- 1. Create a manual or offline transaction record in Zeffy for the total amount received.
- 2. Assign it to a "workplace giving" campaign or tag so it is trackable separately from direct donations.
- 3. If you received a donor-level breakdown with employee consent, create or update individual donor records for each contributor.
- 4. Do not issue a Zeffy-generated tax receipt for these donations. The employee's evidence is from their employer's payroll records.
- 5. Store the employer's remittance report alongside the transaction record for reconciliation and audit.
For more on how DGR status affects your receipting obligations across all donation types, see the guidance on DGR-endorsed charities. For the specific rules on issuing tax-deductible receipts in Australia, see the information on tax-deductible receipts.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between workplace giving and salary sacrifice?
With workplace giving, the employee donates from their taxable income and can claim the deduction on their personal income tax return. With salary sacrifice, the employee gives up part of their pre-tax salary, which reduces their taxable income in a different way, and the contribution is generally not deductible by the employee on their personal return. The ATO's comparison page explains the distinction. If an employer is unsure which structure to use, they should speak to their tax adviser.
How do I know how much workplace giving money I have received and from whom?
The employer or intermediary will typically send a remittance report alongside the bank transfer. What that report contains depends on how many employees have consented to share their personal information with your charity under privacy law. You may receive full donor-level breakdowns or just a total amount. Build your reconciliation process to handle both scenarios.
Can any charity be added to an employer's workplace giving program?
Only DGR-endorsed charities are eligible. The employer must confirm your ongoing DGR status before listing you on their program. Some employers also apply their own eligibility criteria (for example, restricting the program to charities operating in a specific area or sector). There is no single national registry of employer workplace giving programs; you need to approach employers directly.
How long does it take to get listed on an employer's workplace giving program?
Allow at minimum six months from initial conversation to first payment, and often longer at larger organisations with annual charity-partner review cycles. Workplace Giving Australia coordinates Workplace Giving Month in June, which is a natural moment to initiate or reopen conversations with corporate contacts.
Is workplace giving worth the effort for a small charity?
It depends on your corporate relationships and the time you can invest. Nationally, fewer than 1 in 20 eligible employees actually participates in a workplace giving program (WGA 2024). For charities without an existing corporate relationship, the return on effort is low compared to running a strong EOFY appeal or building a regular giving program. For charities with a motivated corporate partner who offers matched giving, the channel can generate meaningful and reliable income over time.
What if my charity receives a bulk payment it cannot reconcile?
Contact the remitter (the employer or intermediary) and ask for a breakdown. Keep the funds in a holding category in your accounts while you reconcile. Do not spend unreconciled income until you can confirm the source and amount. If the employer cannot provide a breakdown, record the total against the employer as the source and note the limitation in your records for audit purposes.
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