Charities linked to Destiny Church face Internal Affairs probe

Author: Joel Kulasingham,
Publish Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2026, 4:10pm

The Department of Internal Affairs is investigating some registered charities associated with Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church.

Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) director charities services Charlotte Stanley confirmed to the Herald that the investigations are ongoing, and she wasn’t able to comment on the “nature, scope or progress of those investigations”.

“What is commonly referred to as Destiny Church is a group made up of multiple churches and affiliated groups,” Stanley said.

“Of these, only some are registered charities and under the jurisdiction of the department. From the 31 Destiny-related registered charities, only 10 remain after a number of deregistrations for failure to meet obligations and self-deregistrations.

“The department and the independent Charities Registration Board are responsible for considering allegations of serious wrongdoing under the Charities Act 2005. Any concerns raised must be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the alleged conduct is connected to a registered charitable entity and whether it falls within the scope of the act.”

Tamaki said he wasn’t “in a position to comment” on the investigations when contacted by the Herald.

“[I’ve] not been involved in the governance or administration of the various charitable entities associated with Destiny Church for many years,” he said.

A liquidator’s report from last year into Whakamana International Trust, a charitable trust linked to the church that changed its name from Destiny International Trust last August, showed almost $2.4 million was owed to unsecured creditors, including Inland Revenue.

The report said the trust was registered on the charities register in June 2008 but was deregistered in December 2017 and again in February 2022.

Brian Tamaki said he's "not involved" with the registered charities associated with Destiny Church. Photo / Alex Burton

A petition last year seeking the removal of Destiny Church’s charitable status gained more than 36,000 signatures after the church’s Man Up and Legacy groups stormed Auckland’s Te Atatū Community Centre and library to protest a children’s science show hosted by a drag king.

Around 30 young children and adults were reportedly barricaded inside during the incident, with police “strongly condemning” the protest at the time.

Following the petition, Tamaki told television’s 1News last year: “We already operate a number of our larger trusts ‘without’ being registered with DIA Charities Services, including Destiny Church Auckland Trust, as we refuse to be controlled or muzzled by the Government. We, therefore, do already pay income tax.

“So the calls and petitions to strip us of our charitable status is of no consequence to us, and it’s actually quite entertaining to watch them get all worked up over this.”

Tamaki has also recently come under the microscope from police over incendiary and “threatening” comments made in the pulpit and on social media.

Police confirmed this week that they were investigating a “threatening video” he posted, where he targeted a range of organisations and individuals in what he described as “heaven’s hit list”.

In a church meeting on Monday, which was also live-streamed for more than an hour on Facebook, Tamaki and his Destiny Church members spoke out against businesses, including “mainstream media”, politicians, government departments and those they consider to be “evil”.

After speaking for about 40 minutes, Tamaki ceded the pulpit to his followers, with one saying during a “prayer” that “we target the Charities Commission who wants to put your hands into the church” and “silence” it.

“We tell you, get your hands out of the church in Jesus’ name,” they said.

The Charities Commission was disestablished in 2012, with its core functions moved to the DIA.

In June, police temporarily suspended Tamaki’s gun licence and confiscated his firearms cache after incendiary comments he made on social media.