New analysis reveals that Australia’s weak donation laws have allowed political parties to hide the origins of $1bn in income over the past two decades, enabling mega-donors to exert disproportionate influence. The disclosure threshold currently permits donations below $14,300 to be hidden from public view, even if a single donor splits a larger sum into multiple smaller payments.
The Centre for Public Integrity estimates that about 35% of contributions, or roughly $1bn, came from unknown sources since 1999. Five donors contributed 25% of all money given to parties, led by Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy with $101.1m in 40 donations. Other top donors include the Cormack Foundation ($61.4m), ALP Holdings ($56.8m), John Curtin House ($47.6m), and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association ($31.2m).
Unlike Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, the federal system has no cap on individual donations and lags behind states in disclosure timeliness. Federally, the public can wait over a year to learn who funded parties, often after elections. For instance, donations made before the May 2019 election were not disclosed until February 2020.
The Greens plan to introduce a bill banning donors bidding for government work or seeking environmental approvals from making political donations. Senate leader Larissa Waters called the reform “modest” and urged major parties to support it. Enforcement is also weak, with the auditor general finding the Australian Electoral Commission failed to punish rule-breakers or ensure accurate financial reporting.
