A two-day Brightstar sector update for the charities and not-for-profit community, held 22–23 February 2027 at Rydges in Auckland CBD (with a virtual option), covering legal, governance, employment, financial-reporting and tax changes landing in 2027.
Brightstar's *Legal, Financial & Governance Updates for Charities & NFPs 2027* is a two-day professional-development update for the New Zealand not-for-profit and charities sector, scheduled for 22–23 February 2027 at Rydges in Auckland CBD, with a virtual attendance option. The programme is built around the wave of legal, governance, employment, health-and-safety, financial-reporting and tax changes due to take effect through 2027, and is pitched at the people who have to implement them — boards, chief executives, finance and governance leads across charities and NFPs.
The event carries two names in the wild: Brightstar's website lists it under the heading "Essential Updates for Charities & NFPs," while the event page's own title and 2027 programme run under "Legal, Financial & Governance Updates for Not-for-Profits & Charities 2027." These are the same event on the same dates at the same venue, not two competing listings — the "Essential Updates" label is simply the site's shorter catalogue title for this record.
The event is run by Brightstar, the trading name of Conferenz Ltd, a long-established New Zealand conference and professional-development company based at B:Hive, Smales Farm, 72 Taharoto Road, Takapuna, Auckland. Brightstar runs a large annual calendar of one- and two-day masterclasses and sector updates across law, finance, governance and public policy, and the charities/NFP update is a recurring fixture in that programme.
Brightstar aims the update squarely at the governance and management layer of the sector: chief executives and general managers, board members, chairs and trustees, company and board secretaries, CFOs and finance staff, governance and risk managers, HR and people-and-culture leaders, legal and compliance managers, and fundraising and operations leads.
The agenda is a dense run of short sessions delivered by named sector lawyers, regulators and practitioners. Day one (22 February) is chaired by Kate Russell of Hagar New Zealand and covers sector pressures and protective governance (Phillippa Wilkie, Chapman Tripp), governing documents and decision-making (Steven Moe, Parry Field Lawyers), the 2027 employment-law reforms (Rosemary Wooders, Bell Gully), hiring, performance and dismissal (Jessie Lapthorne, Duncan Cotterill), restructuring and redundancy (James Warren, Dentons), the health-and-safety reforms taking effect 1 April 2027 (Tracey Conlon, WorkSafe NZ), volunteers and duty of care (Michelle Kitney, Volunteering NZ), privacy and data sharing (Louisa Joblin, MoranLaw), the three-year governance review (Annemarie Mora, Parry Field), and a board-capability panel. Day two (23 February) turns to officer duties and personal liability (Susan Barker, Susan Barker Charities Law), governance failure and enforcement (Dr Denis Mowbray, Chartered Governance Institute), financial reporting and board liability, audit and assurance (Jadene Windley, Grant Thornton), the donation tax changes from April 2027 (Louisa Joblin and Simon Bowden of Forsyth Barr), trustee and director remuneration (Mike Chapman, NZ Ethical Employers), and the board–CE relationship (Judene Edgar, Institute of Directors). Day two closes at around 3:00pm, followed by an optional afternoon workshop, "Making Your Governing Documents Work in the Real World" (Mike Chapman), running 3:15–6:00pm.
The conference is held at Rydges Auckland, 59 Federal Street, Auckland CBD — a hotel-conference venue in the heart of the central city, a short walk from the SkyCity precinct, Viaduct Harbour and Britomart. The CBD location puts it within easy reach of the main central hotels and the Waitematā/Britomart transport hub, which matters for a national-audience sector update drawing board members and executives travelling in from outside Auckland; the virtual option covers those who can't attend in person.
For New Zealand's charities and NFPs, 2027 is shaping up as a heavy compliance year — employment-law reform, health-and-safety changes from 1 April, donation tax changes from April, and continued pressure from the charities regulatory review all land in a short window. An update that compresses the practitioner view of all of these into two days, with the actual lawyers, regulators and auditors in the room, is squarely the kind of sector briefing Brightstar is known for, and the confirmed programme and venue make this a well-substantiated listing.
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