Destiny Church charities status reinstated after earlier being deregistered

Brian and Hannah Tamaki. File Photo / Brett Phibbs

Two charities under Destiny Church have been allowed to operate again, including having tax exemptions, after earlier having their charitable status removed.

The High Court this morning ordered that both charities - the Destiny International Trust and Te Hāhi o Ngā Mātāmua Holdings - be reinstated their charitable status after they were taken off the Charities Register two years ago.

The church's charities were penalised after failure to file annual returns.

It is not known whether the head of Destiny Church, Bishop Brian Tamaki, was in court today.

However, Destiny's lawyer, Ron Mansfield, told 1 News that everything was now up-to-date and as required.

"The charities always met the requirements for registration - there was just an issue regarding the late filing of returns".

He told 1 News that they had felt "singled out for no good reason" - given that more than 1300 other charities around New Zealand had also failed to meet requirements.

Destiny Church has since filed its returns for 2018, One News said, which showed a loss of more than half a million dollars and that its current liabilities exceeded assets by more than $1 million.

Chairman of the Charities Registration Board, Roger Holmes Miller, said they were now satisfied that both the charities now meet registration requirements and could be re-registered.

Bills of all sorts shower the main stage at Destiny Church in 2014. Photo / Supplied

"The Destiny charities applied to the High Court to have their re-registration backdated to the date of their de-registration [on December 20, 2017] and this was granted by the High Court [today].

"The Destiny charities abandoned their appeal against the board's original decision. The board does not play an active role in appeals and therefore abides by the court's backdating order''.

The church has long been controversial and a subject of many headlines over the years.

Its leader, Tamaki, has also featured heavily in the news, including being called out by members of the public for his lavish lifestyle.

In 2014, the church hit headlines yet again after Tamaki posted photos showing money strewn over the church stage on his Twitter page.

A carpet of high-dollar bills can be seen on the stage as what appears to be church leaders stand by.

Tamaki captioned one of the images: "A sweet-smelling fragrance that is acceptable to God (Phil 4:15-19): My God shall supply all your need..."