Political donations

Part 12 of Victoria’s Electoral Act 2002 regulates political donations for state elections.

Disclosure rules at a glance

• If you make or receive a political donation of $1,210 or more you must disclose it using our online system VEC Disclosures. You must do this within 21 days of the donation.

• Small contributions ($60 or less) do not count towards the $4,850 general donation cap. It is an offence to make or receive multiple small contributions to deliberately avoid the disclosure threshold or general donation cap.

• You must open and maintain a dedicated state campaign account if you are likely to make or receive political donations.
• You must provide an annual return to us each financial year that you receive political donations. This must cover all political donations, expenditure and debts (exceptions apply).

The general cap, disclosure threshold and small contributions amount are indexed each year on 1 July. See the Indexation page for more information.

Disclose a political donation

Donations for local council elections

Donations to local council candidates are administered by the Victorian Local Government Inspectorate. Annual returns for councillors and local council candidates must be submitted to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the relevant local council.

Banned donations

These donations are not allowed:

• foreign donations (donations can only come from Australian citizens, residents or businesses)
• anonymous donations of $1,210 or more
• multiple donations from a single donor to a single recipient which, in total, exceed the general donation cap of $4,850 in the 4 years between state elections
• donations to more than 6 third-party campaigners in the 4 years between state elections.

What is a political donation?

A political donation is any gift made to:

• political parties registered in Victoria
• candidates at a Victorian State election
• a group of Legislative Council (upper house) candidates at a Victorian State election
• an elected member of the Victorian Parliament
• an associated entity operating in Victoria
• a nominated entity of a political party registered in Victoria
• a third-party campaigner operating in Victoria.

Gifts include:

• money
• services (including paid labour)
• loans
• guarantees
• property (including a loan of assets).

Gifts do not include:

• gifts made in a private capacity for personal use
• annual subscriptions to political parties registered in Victoria
• annual affiliation fees to political parties registered in Victoria
• annual levies to political parties registered in Victoria
• gifts between a registered political party and its nominated entity
• gifts made for Commonwealth (federal) electoral purposes
• volunteer labour
• labour shared between branches
• property used by a shared labour resource between branches (for example a telephone used by a worker).

Who can make political donations?

Any Australian citizen, Australian resident, and any organisation that has an Australian Business Number (ABN).

Who can receive political donations?

Any of the following:

• political parties registered in Victoria
• candidates at a Victorian State election
• groups of Legislative Council (Upper House) candidates at a Victorian State election
• elected members of the Victorian Parliament
• associated entities operating in Victoria
• nominated entities of political parties registered in Victoria
• third-party campaigners operating in Victoria.

Can I see who has made or received political donations?

You can view donations made and received on VEC Disclosures. You do not need an account to view public donation information.

You can see:

• who has made political donations
• who has received political donations
• the donation amounts
• the date donations were made or received.

Donations before 2018 are not available as the legislation that requires us to monitor them had not yet been passed.

View political donations

Donations for federal elections

The Australian Electoral Commission is responsible for administering federal political donation and funding laws.

Record keeping

You must keep any records related to electoral expenditure, political expenditure, and donations.

You must keep these records for at least 4 years from:

• the relevant election day (for any funding you receive from us)
• the date of an online donation disclosure
• the date you submit an annual return to us

Records must be kept in paper or electronic form. These records must be available if we require them. There are penalties for submitting false or misleading information.

Examples of related records include:

• audit records, including statements and certificates
• receipts
• transaction records such as bank or credit card statements
• deposit or cash books
• receipt or acknowledgement books
• financial journals or ledgers
• payroll records.

You may need to keep these records for longer for other purposes, such as your tax obligations. You should consult a tax professional with any tax queries.

More information

If you would like more information, are interested in attending a webinar or would like to receive updates, please sign up for funding and disclosure updates.