Helping Group

About · Since 2020

Started in a crisis. Kept small on purpose.

Helping Group began during the 2019–20 Australian bushfires, when thousands of people were making urgent decisions about where they could go and what they could take with them.

How it began · Summer 2019–20

Offers were everywhere. Finding them wasn’t.

The first version of Helping Homes connected people evacuating from fires with Australians who had spare accommodation. It grew from a direct observation: people wanted to help, but offers spread across social media and informal networks were difficult to find at the moment they were needed.

Helping Group formed around that response. It later explored other project ideas, now recorded in the archive, but Helping Homes is our continuing work.

Founder’s note

Daniel Ferguson

President and founder

Daniel started Helping Homes after seeing the scale of displacement during the 2019–20 bushfires and asking whether a simple digital service could connect evacuees with spare accommodation. Helping Group is kept deliberately focused today: maintain the service, be honest about when it is active, and be ready to respond when circumstances require it.

A dated record

What happened, and when.

  1. Summer 2019–20

    Helping Homes is built

    It began during the bushfire season, as a way to connect people evacuating with spare accommodation.

  2. 6 Aug 2020

    Registered with the ACNC

    Helping Group becomes a registered charity, listed on the public ACNC register.

  3. 2020–21

    Archived

    Other ideas explored, now archived

    Rainbow Restoration, Our Move and What’s My Impact? followed Helping Homes. None is operating today.

  4. Today

    On standby

    Helping Homes on standby

    The service is kept ready for the next emergency. It isn’t activated right now.

How we work

Useful before impressive.

  1. Start with the practical problem

    Technology matters only when it makes a difficult situation clearer or helps someone take a useful next step.

  2. Be explicit about status

    We say when Helping Homes is on standby, when it is activated and when the app is unavailable.

  3. Respect official boundaries

    Helping Homes connects community support. It doesn’t replace 000, emergency warnings or professional services.

Governance

Who’s accountable.

Helping Group’s responsible people, as listed on the ACNC Charity Register
NameRole
Daniel FergusonPresident · Founder
Daniel GatesVice-president
Kasenya TurnerSecretary
Alison KempTreasurer
Grace BarelierDirector
Check our responsible people on the ACNC register (opens in a new tab)

Registration record

Check it for yourself.

These details come from the ACNC Charity Register and the Australian Business Register, where anyone can check them.

ABN
34 726 868 010
Registered with the ACNC
6 August 2020
Charity size
Small
Tax status
Income tax exempt
Deductible gift recipient
No
Donations are not tax-deductible.
Last reported
23 February 2026
Next report due
31 January 2027