The charity arm of a cloistered New Zealand commune was stripped of its tax-exempt status Tuesday after an investigation found the trust’s funds enabled “serious wrongdoing” by the religious group, including the use of child labor and failing to report sexual crime.
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funds → strip → crime
Gloriavale, a conservative Christian sect, is based on a sprawling ranch on New Zealand’s South Island, where about 600 people live on land owned by the Christian Church Community Trust and work as volunteers at the trust’s businesses.
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people → base → businesses
The government’s Charities Registration Board said Tuesday that the group’s charitable status will be revoked for three years beginning Sept. 23.
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status → say → Sept.
Funds provided by Gloriavale’s trust allowed the group “to operate in ways found to be unlawful and inconsistent with the wellbeing of trust beneficiaries,” the charities board said in a statement.
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board → provide → statement
Calls to remove the group’s charitable status grew after the former leader Howard Temple was convicted in 2025 of sexually abusing girls and women aged between 9 and 20 over a period of two decades.
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leader → remove → decades
Temple’s conviction followed a landmark 2022 court ruling that former members had been unpaid employees of the trust’s businesses, not volunteers.
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members → follow → businesses
Children as young as 6 labored full-time, while workers faced harsh and sometimes dangerous conditions, forced labor, deprivation of food and public shaming, the employment court found.
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court → labor → food
The charities board cited the employment court ruling and referenced the non-reporting of sexual offenses against a child at Gloriavale’s school, which is owned by the trust.
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which → cite → trust
The group can appeal the decision of the charities board.
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group → appeal → board
A Gloriavale spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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spokesperson → respond → comment
Stripping a religious group of charity status is unusual
New Zealand trusts formed by religious groups are rarely stripped of charity status because of organizational practices rather than administrative reasons or problems with financial returns.
“The Board recognises the right of the community to exist as a religious minority within a free and democratic society” Charities Registration Board chair Jane Wrightson said in a statement.
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Wrightson → strip → statement
“The Board regulates the Trust, not the community, and this decision does not determine the future operation of this religious community.”
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decision → regulate → community
Objections from the trust included the historical nature of the wrongdoing and the consequences of the decision for hundreds of people, including “children, the elderly and the infirm,” the charities board said.
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board → include → children
The trust made “significant changes” in recent years, including governance and safeguarding reforms.
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trust → make → reforms
However, the “seriousness, scale and duration” of the misconduct meant deregistration was in the public interest, the board said.
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board → mean → interest
The decision came weeks after New Zealand’s Ministry of Education said it had revoked the registration of the sect’s school and was pursuing plans to close it over fears for the physical and emotional safety of the students.
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it → come → students
The school with about 80 students remains open while legal processes continue.
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processes → remain → students
Impact of taxes on Gloriavale remain unclear
Gloriavale has for decades been a subject of fascination and concern in New Zealand.
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Gloriavale → remain → Zealand
Founded in the 1970s, the sect is mostly isolated from the outside world.
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sect → found → world
Members share all money, live in buildings owned by the trust, don’t speak to relatives who leave the group and work or study within the commune.
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who → share → commune
Women and girls wear navy-colored, ankle-length dresses with white headdresses.
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Women → wear → headdresses
Adherents are required to have large families and only men can serve in leadership roles.
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men → require → roles
The sect attracted attention during a broader official inquiry into decades of abuse at New Zealand’s state and religious institutions.
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sect → attract → institutions
The final report, published in 2024, found Gloriavale had for decades prohibited members from reporting crimes to outside authorities and included former members’ descriptions of physical and sexual abuse.
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Gloriavale → publish → abuse
The trust’s money comes from its businesses, including large-scale farming and a charter flights company, and from government funding for its school and daycare centers.
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money → come → centers
The future impact of the group’s loss of charitable status, which also rescinds tax-exempt privileges, is unclear.
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which → rescind → privileges
Gloriavale’s latest financial returns, filed in July 2025, listed one full-time employee of the trust and 23 volunteers.
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returns → file → trust
The trust’s assets totaled 50 million New Zealand dollars ($29 million), according to the document.
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assets → total → document
Temple, Gloriavale’s former leader and a previous charity trustee, also was banned from charity governance posts for five years, the board said.
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board → ban → years
The 85-year-old’s prison sentence for sexual offenses was overturned in March and he is serving home detention.
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he → overturn → detention
The Aporia
