1 February 2010

The 2008-09 annual financial disclosure returns from political parties, associated entities, donors and third parties who engage in political expenditure were released for public inspection at 9.00am AESDT today, Monday 1 February 2010.  The annual returns are available on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website at www.aec.gov.au.

In a media release on Friday 29 January 2010, the Australian Electoral Commission provided total figures disclosed in the four types of 2008-09 returns now released for public inspection.  Those figures are repeated in the attached high level summary together with a breakdown showing the total amounts disclosed by the major party groups.  

Apart from associated entities, the amounts disclosed are significantly less than for    2007-08 because that year covered a federal election and the Gippsland by-election.  The only electoral events in 2008-09 were the by-elections in Lyne and Mayo.

A fact sheet providing information about basic disclosure requirements is also attached.

Media contacts

Phil Diak
Director, Media and Communication Strategy
Canberra
02 6271 4415
0413 452 539

 

Editor’s note: The annual returns locator service on the AEC website provides for some analysis of the information in the returns as well as images of the original returns. The website includes a data export function to enable users to undertake additional analysis of data.  Background information on funding and disclosure is available in guides at http://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/index.htm.

 

High level summary of 2008-09 financial disclosure returns

Political Parties

Party Group	Receipts 2007-08 $000	Receipts 2008-09 $000	Payments 2007-08 $000	Payments 2008-09 $000	Debts 2007-08 $000	Debts 2008-09 $000
ALP	111,640	42,918	111,100	43,793	10,572	10,261
Liberal	74,091	38,354	74,106	36,839	11,499	12,617
Nationals	14,586	5,240	14,106	5,351	967	786
Greens	10,461	3,400	8,329	3,872	293	295
Family First	685	84	769	121	374	204
Democrats	398	75	578	98	67	40
One Nation	77	98	133	76	2	2
Others	4,586	3,530	4,372	3,731	951	992
Total	216,524	93,699	213,493	93,880	24,726	25,195

 
Associated Entity Returns

Receipts 2007‑08 $000	Receipts 2008‑09 $000	Payments 2007‑08 $000	Payments 2008‑09 $000	Debts 2007‑08 $000	Debts 2008‑09 $000
702,561	716,801	658,192	659,609	107,545	100,010

Political Expenditure Returns
2007-08  - $51,333,987
2008-09 - $6,493,558

Donor Returns
2007-08 - $26,425,088
2008-09 - $10,294,507

 

DISCLOSURE FACT SHEET

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 requires registered political parties, associated entities, donors to registered political parties and third parties who engage in political expenditure to furnish financial disclosure returns to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) covering each financial year. 

These returns are made public in February the following year. 

Political parties must submit returns containing the following information:
the total sum received during the financial year;

• the total expenditure for the financial year;
• the total debt outstanding at the end of the financial year;
• the sum and details (date and source) of all receipts over the threshold; and
• the sum and details of any debts as at the end of the financial year that exceed the threshold.

Associated entities must submit returns containing the following information:
the total sum received during the financial year;

• the total expenditure for the financial year;
• the total debt outstanding at the end of the financial year;
• the sum and details (date and source) of all receipts that exceed the threshold;
• the sum and details of any debts as at the end of the financial year that exceed the threshold; and
• the sum and details of the sources of any donations to political parties that exceed the threshold each financial year and are made from capital contributions.

Where the sum of a donor's contribution to a political party is more than the threshold, the donor must submit a return that details:

• the sum and details (date and recipient of the donation) of each ‘gift’; and
• the sum and details of any ‘gifts’ received by the donor that have been passed on to a political party or associated entity, or to another donor for the purposes of being passed on to a political party or associated entity.

Note that receipts include ‘gifts’ (donations) and other receipts such as returns on investments or sales of assets. Parties and associated entities are asked to distinguish between ‘gifts’ and other receipts in their returns.

Note also that donors are not required to make a return where they have received some consideration for their ‘gift’.  Most usually, this involves the provision of a meal or a networking opportunity at a fund raiser.

Where a person has made political expenditure on the following activities the sum of which is in excess of the threshold, they must complete a return detailing expenditure in each of the activities, if any:

• public expression of views on a political party, candidate in an election, member of the Federal Parliament or an issue in a Federal election by any means;
• printing, production, publication, distribution or broadcast of any material that is required by section 328 or 328A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 or subclause 4(2) of schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to include an authorisation; and
• carrying out opinion polling or other research relating to a Federal election or the voting intentions of electors.

Where a person is required to lodge a political expenditure return, and that person received a gift or gifts in excess of the threshold that went towards this expenditure, the person must disclose the sum of the gift, the source of the gift and the date on which the gift was made.

Note: The threshold for the 2008-09 financial year returns was 'more than $10,900'.  The threshold is indexed and is adjusted on 1 July of each financial year.

For more detailed information visit http://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/index.htm