‘In the public interest’: Gloriavale trust loses charitable status
Gloriavale’s trust has lost its charitable status, with the former leader of the isolated West Coast community barred from holding governance roles in other charities.
The Charities Registration Board has issued decisions to deregister the Christian Church Community Trust and disqualify former leader Howard Temple for “serious wrongdoing”.
“The Board’s view is that the funding provided by the Trust supported the Gloriavale community to operate in ways found to be unlawful and inconsistent with the wellbeing of Trust beneficiaries,” a spokesperson for the Board said.
The Trust governs and administers Gloriavale’s commonly owned assets, such as land and buildings.
It owns the communal living spaces where members reside and provides the facilities for the community’s private school and three early childcare centres, according to the Charities Services website. It also holds 100% shares in eight companies operated by the community.
The move comes into effect tomorrow, and the Trust will not be able to apply for registration for another three years.
A Notice of Intended Decision (NOID) to deregister the Trust and disqualify five trustees was first issued in April 2025 following an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
A spokesperson for the Board said it spent two days with Trust representatives to hear their objections to the intended decisions.
Gloriavale’s submissions were ultimately unsuccessful, and the Board decided to strip the Trust of its charitable status.
According to a DIA spokesperson, the decision “drew heavily” on the Courage and Pilgrim cases heard in the employment court, which found several former members were employees, not volunteers.
The findings described children as young as six working in Trust-owned businesses. The work was described as harsh, sometimes carried out in dangerous conditions.
Those cases also discussed failures to protect children and workers from harm, as well as the internal handling and non-reporting of sexual offending against a child at a Trust-owned school.
Temple, who was convicted of abusing several young girls and women while Gloriavale’s leader, was disqualified from holding officer positions in registered charities for the maximum period of five years.
In 2025, Temple pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including indecent assault, involving young women and girls between 2002 and 2022. The charges were related to unwanted touching, hugging, and kissing, spanning more than two decades. Temple ultimately avoided jail following an appeal.
The board found it was “not in the public interest” to disqualify the four other current and former trustees.
Among those was Fervent Stedfast, who resigned as a senior community leader in 2022 after he was accused of failing to handle employment matters during his time as Gloriavale’s financial controller.
“Stedfast would have been disqualified for the maximum period but for his current state of health, meaning that such an order would have no legal effect and it is not in the public interest to make an order that is a legal nullity.”
The board said the other three had been “actively and readily” improving the Trust’s governance, finding it was “not in the public interest to disqualify them”.
Jane Wrightson, chair of the Charities Registration Board, acknowledged the community had worked hard to effect change and improve procedures, but “the behaviour set out in the NOID did occur”.
“The behaviour was both grossly negligent and constitutes gross mismanagement.
“The Board recognises the right of the community to exist as a religious minority within a free and democratic society”, Wrightson said. “The Board regulates the Trust, not the community, and this decision does not determine the future operation of this religious community.
“The decision concerns whether the Trust should continue to enjoy the benefits of being a registered charity under the Act in light of the serious wrongdoing that has occurred. We have decided it should not.”
The DIA welcomed the decision, saying the outcome “highlights the importance of accountability, effective governance, and demonstrable public benefit within the charitable sector”.
“Maintaining public trust and confidence in registered charities is fundamental to the integrity of New Zealand’s charities system,” Charlotte Stanley, director of Charities Services at the DIA, said.
“While this is a significant decision, it is also one that reflects the seriousness of the conduct identified and acknowledges the impact on those affected.”
Today’s decision comes just weeks after the Ministry of Education announced it had cancelled Gloriavale’s registration as a private school and pressed on with plans to close the school.
The Trust has been approached for comment.