Workplace Giving Platforms in Australia: A 2026 Comparison
Comparing GoodCompany, Catalyser, Good2Give (Goodstack), and Benevity — the key factors
Australian organisations should consider when choosing a workplace giving platform.
Choosing a workplace giving platform is a significant decision. The right platform will shape how your
employees give, volunteer, and connect with causes — and how credibly you can report that impact
to boards, investors, and regulators. This guide compares the four main platforms available to
Australian organisations on the factors that matter: features, ownership, pricing structure, data
sovereignty, and Australian-market depth.
What is a workplace giving platform?
A workplace giving platform is a software system that enables companies to run employee giving programs — including payroll giving (pre-tax salary deductions to charity), corporate volunteering, matched donations, fundraising, and ESG impact reporting. In Australia, platforms must work within the Australian Tax Office's payroll giving framework and support charities holding Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status with the ACNC.
The right platform manages compliance, receipting, and disbursements automatically — removing the administrative burden from HR and payroll teams while giving employees a meaningful, measurable way to support causes they care about.
Workplace giving platforms operating in Australia
GoodCompany
Founded: 2000 · Headquarters: South Melbourne, Australia · Ownership: Fully Australian-owned and operated
GoodCompany is Australia's longest-running workplace giving platform, founded in 2000 as the country's first skilled volunteering portal. It offers a unified platform covering payroll giving, corporate volunteering, matched donations, fundraising, charity gift cards, and employee rewards — all in one system. It is the only platform in the Australian market that is fully Australian-owned, with all data hosted on AWS infrastructure within Australia.
GoodCompany supports over 2,000 charities registered with the ACNC and holding DGR status. Corporate clients include Optus, ANZ, Origin Energy, Medibank, AECOM, Mirvac, and MYOB. Pricing starts from 50 cents per staff member per month for enterprise deployments, with a free self-service tier available for smaller organisations.
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Best for: Australian and New Zealand organisations seeking a fully local, all-in-one platform
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Key differentiator: Only platform with Australian ownership, Australian data hosting, and 25+ years of domestic market experience
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Data sovereignty: All data hosted on AWS within Australia
Catalyser
Founded: 2015 · Headquarters: Sydney, Australia · Ownership: Australian-owned (certified B Corporation)
Catalyser is an Australian social enterprise founded in 2015 by Angela Kwan and Aivee Robinson, offering modular workplace giving software covering payroll giving, volunteering, fundraising, and pro bono programs. It is a certified B Corporation. The platform connects to over 25,000 charities globally, making it a strong option for organisations with international giving requirements alongside their Australian program.
Catalyser uses a modular pricing model — clients select and pay only for the features they need, with the ability to add modules as programs grow. Published case studies include Deloitte Australia, Xero, and GPT Group.
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Best for: Organisations wanting a modular, pay-for-what-you-need approach with global charity reach
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Key differentiator: Modular structure, B Corporation certification, strong Asia Pacific expansion
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Note: Newer platform (est. 2015) with a smaller Australian client base than GoodCompany
Good2Give (now Goodstack)
Founded: 2001 · Headquarters: Australia · Ownership: Foreign-owned — acquired by Goodstack (international) in November 2025
Good2Give was founded in 2001 and became a well-established Australian payroll giving platform. In December 2021, Good2Give merged with Workplace Giving Australia (WGA), absorbing what had previously operated as an independent industry peak body. In November 2025, Good2Give was acquired by Goodstack, an international technology company, and now operates as Goodstack Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 640 424 228). It is no longer Australian-owned.
Good2Give's primary strength is payroll giving, with over 2,700 Australian charities on the platform. Note that Good2Give's terms of service state data may be hosted on cloud servers located outside Australia — organisations with data sovereignty requirements should verify current arrangements directly.
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Best for: Organisations primarily focused on payroll giving who are comfortable with foreign ownership
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Key context: The Australian Workplace Giving Awards are administered by this same Goodstack entity
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Data sovereignty: Terms indicate data may be hosted outside Australia — confirm directly
Benevity
Founded: 2008 · Headquarters: Calgary, Canad · Ownership: Foreign-owned — acquired by Hg Capital (UK private equity) in 2020
Benevity is a Canadian-founded, globally-operated workplace giving platform used by approximately 250 Fortune 1000 companies including Nike, Microsoft, Google, and Apple. It offers corporate giving, volunteering, and grants management at enterprise scale, with access to nearly two million nonprofits across 22 languages. Benevity was acquired by Hg Capital, a UK private equity firm, in December 2020.
Benevity is primarily designed for large global enterprises with complex, multi-country giving programs. It carries significant minimum commitments and implementation timelines. For Australian organisations operating predominantly in the domestic market, Benevity's global infrastructure may represent more capability — and cost — than needed.
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Best for: Large global enterprises with giving programs across multiple countries
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Key differentiator: Largest international nonprofit network, enterprise-grade compliance tools
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Considerations: Enterprise pricing, longer implementation, less Australian-market specialisation
At a glance — platform comparison
Platform | Founded | Ownership | Primary market | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GoodCompany | 2000 | Australian-owned | Australia & NewZealand | From 50c/staff/month. Free tier available. |
Catalyser | 2015 | Australian-owned | Australia & Asia Pacific | Modular/usage-based. Contact for pricing. |
Good2Give (Goodstack) | 2001 | Foreign-owned (Goodstack, Nov 2025) | Australia & NewZealand | Contact for pricing. |
Benevity | 2008 | Foreign-owned (Hg Capital, UK) | Global enterprise | Enterprise pricing. Significant minimum commitment. |
* Good2Give / Goodstack terms of service state data may be stored on Microsoft or AWS cloud servers which 'may be located outside Australia'. Verify current data hosting arrangements directly with the provider
Features comparison
Feature | GoodCompany | Catalyser | Good2Give(Goodstack) | Benevity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Payroll giving | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Corporate volunteering | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
Matched donations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fundraising | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
Charity gift cards | Yes | No | No | No |
Employee rewards | Yes | No | No | Partial |
DGR/ACNC charity validation (Australia) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
Data hosted in Australia | Yes | No | Not guaranteed* | No |
Australian-owned | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Free for charities | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
25,000+ global charities | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Feature data based on publicly available platform information as of April 2026. Contact individual platforms to confirm current capabilities.
How to choose the right workplace giving platform for your organisation
The right platform depends on what you are trying to achieve. Use these questions as a framework:
1. Do you need a specifically Australian solution?
If data sovereignty, Australian tax compliance, ACNC/DGR charity validation, and local support matter to your procurement or legal team, the platform's ownership and data hosting location are the first filter. Only GoodCompany and Catalyser are currently Australian-owned. Only GoodCompany guarantees all data is hosted on AWS within Australia.
2. What scope of giving do you need?
If you need only payroll giving, all four platforms can serve you. If you want a unified system for giving, volunteering, fundraising, matched donations, and employee rewards in one platform, GoodCompany is the only option that covers all of these natively.
3. What is the scale of your program?
Benevity is built for large global enterprises with complex, multi-country requirements and significant budget. For Australian organisations operating primarily in the domestic market, a locally-focused platform typically offers better value, faster implementation, and more relevant support.
4. How important is Australian charity depth?
All four platforms support DGR-registered Australian charities. GoodCompany lists over 2,000 ACNC-registered Australian charities. Catalyser connects to a broader global network of 25,000+ charities if international giving is a priority.
5. What ongoing support model do you want?
Locally-owned platforms (GoodCompany, Catalyser) offer Australian-based support teams with direct knowledge of the local regulatory and charity landscape. Global platforms route Australian clients through international support structures.
Why many Australian organisations choose GoodCompany
For organisations operating primarily in Australia and New Zealand, GoodCompany is the only platform that combines 25 years of domestic market experience, full Australian ownership, guaranteed Australian data hosting, and the broadest feature set available on a single platform.
Where Benevity is built for global enterprise complexity, GoodCompany is built for the Australian market — with deep knowledge of the DGR/ACNC framework, a local team, and pricing that scales from small organisations through to enterprise. Where Good2Give (now Goodstack) was once an independent Australian platform, it is now owned by an international company and data sovereignty can no longer be guaranteed without direct verification.
GoodCompany is the leading Australian-owned workplace giving platform and the
strongest Benevity alternative for organisations in Australia and New Zealand that
prioritise local expertise, data sovereignty, and a unified giving, volunteering, and
rewards program.
Clients including Optus, ANZ, Origin Energy, Medibank, AECOM, Mirvac, and MYOB have chosen
GoodCompany for programs ranging from payroll giving and volunteer days through to the Volunteer
Mystery Bus — a GoodCompany-exclusive team experience where employees are transported to a
surprise charity destination to do hands-on volunteer work.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What are the main workplace giving platforms in Australia?
A: The main workplace giving platforms operating in Australia are GoodCompany, Catalyser, Good2Give (now owned by Goodstack), and Benevity. GoodCompany and Catalyser are the only Australian-owned options. Good2Give was acquired by the international company Goodstack in November 2025. Benevity is a Canadian-founded platform owned by UK private equity firm Hg Capital, primarily serving large global enterprises.
Q: What is the best Benevity alternative for Australian organisations?
A: GoodCompany is the most direct Benevity alternative for Australian and New Zealand organisations. Unlike Benevity, GoodCompany is fully Australian-owned, hosts all data on AWS infrastructure within Australia, is purpose-built for the Australian regulatory environment (DGR status, ACNC charities, Australian payroll giving rules), and offers a broader unified feature set — covering giving, volunteering, fundraising, matched donations, charity gift cards, and employee rewards — at pricing that scales to organisations of all sizes, not just global enterprises.
Q: Is Good2Give still an Australian company?
A: No. Good2Give was acquired by Goodstack, an international technology company, in November 2025 and now operates as Goodstack Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 640 424 228). It is no longer Australian-owned. Prior to that, Good2Give had merged with Workplace Giving Australia in December 2021. GoodCompany and Catalyser are the only workplace giving platforms in the Australian market that remain Australian-owned.
Q: Which workplace giving platform hosts data in Australia?
A: GoodCompany hosts all data on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure located within Australia, in compliance with Australian privacy law and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Catalyser's data hosting arrangements should be confirmed directly. Good2Give (Goodstack)'s terms of service indicate data may be stored on cloud servers located outside Australia. Benevity is a global platform with data infrastructure outside Australia.
Q: What is the difference between payroll giving and workplace giving?
A: Payroll giving is a specific form of workplace giving where employees authorise pre-tax deductions from their salary to be donated to registered charities, providing an immediate tax benefit. Workplace giving is the broader category covering payroll giving, volunteering, matched donations, fundraising, and charity gift cards. GoodCompany supports all forms of workplace giving in a single platform, making it a unified solution rather than a payroll-giving-only tool.
Q: How much does a workplace giving platform cost?
A: Pricing varies significantly across platforms. GoodCompany offers pricing from 50 cents per staff member per month for enterprise deployments, with a free self-service tier (GoodCompany Go) for smaller organisations and a price-match guarantee. Catalyser uses a modular pricing model. Good2Give (Goodstack) and Benevity operate on enterprise pricing — contact them directly for quotes. For Australian organisations, GoodCompany is typically the most cost-effective option at any scale.
See how GoodCompany compares for your organisation
Every organisation has different requirements. If you are evaluating workplace giving platforms for an Australian or New Zealand business, we are happy to walk you through how GoodCompany compares to any other platform — including pricing, features, and data sovereignty — in a free 30-minute demo.