Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust — Social Services Charity in Christchurch

Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust is a Trust charity in the Social Services sector, based in Christchurch, Christchurch. CharityData rates this charity C- (56.1/100). Annual revenue: $49.8M NZD. 1 red flag detected. Financial data as at June 2025.

Mission: To contract, fund and promote rescue helicopter services in the Canterbury and West Coast regions of the South Island. This involves fundraising and other activities supporting the provision of the Westpac Rescue Helicopters based in Christchurch and Greymouth.

Registration Number
CC23893
Charity Type
Trust
Registration Date
2008-05-04
Status
Active
CharityData Rating
C- (56.1/100)
Sector
Social Services
Location
Christchurch, Christchurch
Email
rachael@airrescue.co.nz
Data as at
June 2025

Beneficiaries: Children / young people, Family / whanau, General public, Migrants / refugees, Older people, People of a certain ethnic / racial origin, People with disabilities, Religious groups, Other - All

Financial Summary

Total Revenue
$49.8M NZD
Total Expenses
$46.6M NZD
Total Assets
$31.0M NZD
Net Assets
$25.9M NZD
Reserve Months
2.5 months of operating expenses
Staff Count
12
Volunteers
0
Financial Year End
2025-06-30

Financial History

YearRevenueExpensesNet Assets
2025$49.8M$46.6M$25.9M
2024$48.7M$45.4M$20.6M
2023$50.1M$48.4M$17.4M
2022$39.5M$38.0M$15.6M
2021$38.3M$34.7M$14.4M
2020$30.9M$27.1M$11.1M
2019$6.2M$6.2M$3.9M
2018$7.5M$7.2M$3.7M
2017$8.2M$6.8M$3.2M
2016$6.9M$6.3M$1.9M

CharityData Rating

Overall Grade
C-
Overall Score
56.1/100
Financial Score
76.6
Governance Score
75
Transparency Score
85

Red Flags

  • Average staff compensation of $187,952 per FTE, significantly above sector average of $75,000

Board Members and Officers

Current Officers (0)

NameRoleAppointed

Former Officers (23)

  • Nicole Robinson — Treasurer
  • Graham Muir — Trustee (departed 2025-12-12)
  • Priscilla Glasson — Trustee (departed 2025-12-12)
  • Gregory Thompson — Trustee (departed 2025-12-12)
  • David Bowie — Trustee (departed 2025-12-12)
  • Charlotte Smith Smulders — Trustee (departed 2025-12-12)
  • Daniel Schroder — Trustee (departed 2025-03-24)
  • Christopher Weir — Trustee (departed 2023-11-10)
  • Murray Willocks — Chair
  • Peter Jensen — Trustee
  • Warren Gilbertson — Trustee
  • Tracey Chambers — Trustee (departed 2017-01-31)
  • Ivan Campbell — Trustee (departed 2017-12-08)
  • Barrie Cooper — Trustee (departed 2019-12-11)
  • Barry Cooper — Trustee (departed 2019-12-11)
  • Neil Blanchfield — Deputy Chairman Canterbury (departed 2015-07-27)
  • Trevor Watts — Deputy Chairman West Coast (departed 2017-12-08)
  • Barry Bragg — Deputy Chair
  • Jan Coll — Deputy-Chairman-West-Coast (departed 2010-11-16)
  • Murray Weakley — Trustee

Executive Compensation

NameRoleCompensationYear
Key Management Personnel (aggregate)Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, Funding & Finance Manager, Development Director, General Manager of operations, Chief Executive Officer$1,334,3502025
Key Management Personnel (aggregate)Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, Funding & Finance Manager, Development Director, General Manager of operations, Chief Executive Officer$1,334,350-
Board/Trustees (unpaid)Board of Trustees$0-
Board/Trustees (unpaid)Board of Trustees$02025
Warren GilbertsonTrustee-2025
Murray WeakleyTrustee-2023
Warren GilbertsonTrustee-2023
Barry BraggTrustee-2023
Gregory ThompsonTrustee-2025
Daniel SchroderTrustee-2025
David BowieTrustee-2025
Peter JensenTrustee-2025
Charlotte SmuldersTrustee-2025
Graham MuirTrustee-2025
Murray WillocksTrustee-2023
David DunsTrustee-2023
Barry BraggDeputy Chairman-2025
David DunsTrustee-2025
Peter JensenTrustee-2023
Murray WillocksChairman-2025
Nicole RobinsonTreasurer-2025
Daniel SchroderTrustee-2023
Priscilla GlassonTrustee-2025
N BreckellPartner-2022
Chris WeirTrustee-2023
Murray WeakleyTrustee-2025

Funding Sources

  • Air Rescue Services Limited — $13,030,376.22

Major Funders and Contracts (FY2025)

As disclosed in Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust's annual report.

  • Health New Zealand — Te Whatu Ora — Partly funding air rescue services in Canterbury West Coast region

Service Providers

  • Michael Stewart
  • PKF Kendons Chartered Accountants Limited
  • Westpac
  • Westpac
  • PKF Goldsmith Fox Audit Limited
  • PKF Goldsmith Fox Audit Limited
  • Hobson Wealth
  • Forsyth Barr

Similar Charities in Social Services

Social ServicesTrust

Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust

CC23893Christchurch, ChristchurchRegistered 4 May 2008
Data updated: 4 days ago
Financials30 Jun 2025Rating2d ago

Financial data as at June 2025. Sourced from Charities Services register.

C-
56/100
Reduced by penalties
Financial
77
Governance
75
Transparency
85
Revenue

$49.8M

Expenses

$46.6M

Assets

$31.0M

Staff

12

Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2025). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.

1 red flag identified- Review the Rating tab for details

About

Mission

To contract, fund and promote rescue helicopter services in the Canterbury and West Coast regions of the South Island. This involves fundraising and other activities supporting the provision of the Westpac Rescue Helicopters based in Christchurch and Greymouth.

Who We Serve

Beneficiaries
Children / young peopleFamily / whanauGeneral publicMigrants / refugeesOlder peoplePeople of a certain ethnic / racial originPeople with disabilitiesReligious groupsOther - All

Key Statistics

Annual Revenue
$49.8M
Total Expenses
$46.6M
Net Assets
$25.9M
Staff
12
employees
Volunteers
0

Financial Trends

Financial Trends (17 Years)

Revenue Breakdown

Expense Breakdown

API Data

Based on annual return data. Detailed program/admin breakdown not available.

Financial Health Dashboard

Cents to the Cause
99c
For every $1 spent, 99c reaches programs
Strong
Sustainability
2.5mo
Could operate 2.5 months with zero revenue
Critical
Fundraising Cost
$0.06
Costs $0.06 to raise each $1 in donations
Efficient

Based on latest annual return data. Metrics are calculated from reported financial data and may not reflect the full picture. View methodology

Revenue Diversification

28
Score /100
Highly Concentrated
HHI: 7,249
High Concentration: 84% of revenue from Other
Other83.9%
Donations14.4%
Investment Income1.7%

HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index) measures concentration across 6 income categories. Lower HHI = more diversified. Score above 60 indicates healthy diversification.

Peer Comparison

Ranked against 9 peers · Social Services · $10M – $50M

Rating Score
56
#6/10
Revenue
$49.8M
#1/10
Reserve Months
2.5
#1/10
Surplus
$3.2M
#5/10
Staff Cost %
5%
#10/10

Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.

Rating

C-
Score: 56.1/100
Financial
76.6
Governance
75
Transparency
85
Why this grade: Financial 77 × 40% + Governance 75 × 60% = 76 → 56 after red-flag penalties → C-.
View Full Score Breakdown

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Contact Details

Address
Christchurch, Christchurch

Registration

Registration NumberCC23893
Entity TypeTrust
Registered4 May 2008
StatusRegistered

Companies Office

StatusRegistered
Entity TypeCharitable Trust
Incorporated6 Nov 1989
Registered office
Level 9, 62 Worcester Boulevard Christchurch, Christchurch

Sector & Activities

Primary Sector
Social Services
Activities
Other - Acts an Umbrella body

Data sourced from Charities Services register and publicly available annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. Scores are calculated using disclosed methodology and are analytical tools, not investment ratings or recommendations. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@charitydata.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Last updated: 28 September 2026.