The act imposes conditions on bodies wishing to attain or maintain charitable status.

[2] For the purposes of the law, a charitable organisation must demonstrate that it serves the public interest, and that its purpose lies entirely in the promotion of one or more of the following causes: Prior to 2008, the law assumed that advancement of education or religion were automatically in the public interest.

[2] The act established a "Charity Tribunal" to hear appeals from decisions of the Charity Commission, which previously lay only to the High Court.

The act raises the threshold above which registration is required with the Charity Commission from £1,000 to £5,000.

This is intended to reduce administration costs for small charities.