New political finance laws

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The Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026 was passed by Parliament in June 2026. This reintroduces Part 12 of the Electoral Act 2002 which was declared invalid by the High Court.

These new laws address:

political donation caps
political donation disclosure requirements
political funding, auditing and reporting
relevant compliance tools and offences

We're working to implement these laws in a way that supports participation, transparency and trust in the electoral system. We'll update our web pages to reflect the new laws as quickly as we can. We appreciate your patience.

The new legislation largely maintains Part 12 of the Electoral Act 2002. It also introduces some changes to the political donation and political funding frameworks in Victoria.

These new laws are also retrospective, meaning many of the obligations, functions and powers apply from when the High Court published its decision on 15 April 2026.

30-day grace period for political donations between 15 April and 8 June 2026

If you made or received a political donation of $1,250 or more between 15 April and 9 June 2026, you must:

disclose the donation by 9 July 2026. This includes where multiple donations were made to the same recipient that total $1,250 or more.
return any donation amounts received above the $5,030 general cap to the donor by 9 July 2026.

The period 15 April to 9 June 2026 is called the applicable period. This is the period between the High Court’s decision and when the new legislation to reintroduce Part 12 of the Electoral Act received Royal Assent from the Governor.

See our political donations page for more information.

Nominated entities and registered political parties

Gifts between 15 April and 9 June 2026

Registered political parties that had nominated entities under the previous legislation must:

disclose any gifts given to or received from a nominated entity from 15 April to 9 June 2026 that would have been above the $5,030 general cap, and
return those gifts received from the nominated entity to the entity on or before 9 July 2026.

Nominated entities must also:

disclose any gifts given to or received from a registered political party from 15 April to 9 June 2026 that would have been above the $5,030 general cap, and
return those gifts received from the registered political party to the party on or before 9 July 2026.

Gifts before 15 April 2026

The new laws remove the provision for nominated entities and the exemptions that were previously in place for nominated entities. However, there are arrangements in place to manage gifts exchanged before the new laws came into place.

Registered political parties that had nominated entities under the previous legislation should be aware that they must repay any gifts received from the nominated entity above the general cap from 25 November 2018 to 14 April 2026 that were unspent in the political party’s state campaign account on 15 April 2026.

Repayment must occur before 28 November 2026, the day of the 2026 state election.

What has changed

New entrants

Registered political parties and independent candidates can apply to register as a new entrant if they are eligible. Registered new entrants can receive donations from a single donor up to twice the general cap amount.

A registered political party is eligible to register as a new entrant if they have:

never received public funding for any previous state election, including by-elections
not been eligible to receive administrative expenditure funding during the calendar year they are applying
not been eligible to receive policy development funding during the calendar year they are applying.

An independent candidate is eligible to register if they have not received public funding for any previous state elections, including by-elections.

Disclosure thresholds and caps for political donations

There are new thresholds and caps for political donations, including:

a $1,250 disclosure threshold
a $5,030 general cap on political donations from a donor to a recipient between 15 April and 28 November 2026. This cap will increase to $7,500 after the 2026 state election
a $5,030 threshold for the amount of political donations received or political expenditure incurred for a person or entity to be considered a third-party campaigner
a $100 limit on small contributions, which do not count towards the general cap or the disclosure threshold. Small contributions cannot be used to circumvent the disclosure threshold or general cap
a ban on anonymous donations of $1,250 or more
a ban on foreign donations.

The disclosure threshold and general cap are indexed on 1 July each year.

Funding entitlements

The new laws increased the amount payable to eligible funding recipients for administrative expenditure funding. They also maintained eligibility for the other 2 streams of political funding: policy development funding and public funding. All funding streams are subject to indexation.

Groups of Legislative Council candidates can ask for their public funding entitlement to be apportioned among them. This includes composite groups formed by more than one registered political party.

There are also new provisions to prevent funding recipients from claiming any credit, rebate, refund, reimbursement or other kind of reduction in tax liability under any law.

Funding recovery

The new laws provide a way for us to recover funding from recipients in certain circumstances. This includes from de-registered political parties and independent elected members who were receiving funding and resign, die or join a registered political party.

There’s also greater discretion for the VEC to manage debts and enter into repayment agreements with advance public funding recipients. This includes situations such as when overpayments are identified following a funding recipient’s statement of expenditure.

Political and electoral expenditure

The new laws allow us to determine what is considered electoral expenditure and political expenditure. This will provide clear rules for auditors to follow.