Nine months after the 2022 federal election, Australian voters finally get a look at how much the major parties spent and who funded their campaigns.

Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth), disclosures are required of political parties and donors. This analysis collates and categorises disclosures made to the Australian Electoral Commission by both donors and political parties over the period 1998/99 – 2019/2020.

This guide summarises the complex funding and disclosure laws federally, and in each Australian state and territory. These laws regulate who can make and receive political donations, how and when those donations must be disclosed, how much money political parties can spend for their election campaigns, and the amount of public money they receive to...

Drawing on insights from Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and Kyrgyzstan, this report connects the global decline of democracies to digital disruption and calls for strengthened regulatory frameworks along with its enforcement to prevent monied interests and hidden actors from influencing the outcome of democratic elections.

This guide summarises the complex funding and disclosure laws federally, and in each Australian state and territory. This document does not attempt to capture every nuance of each system and is not a substitute for legal advice. The analysis separates out donations and electoral expenditure, and public funding.