Political donations

We have updated this page after amendments to the Electoral Act 2002 reintroduced funding and donation disclosure laws. Pay close attention to this information as obligations have changed. We are continuing to update related web pages to reflect the new laws.

Disclosure rules at a glance

Victoria's political donation disclosure rules apply to:

• registered political parties
• independent candidates
• groups of candidates in Legislative Council region elections
• independent members of Parliament
• associated entities
• third-party campaigners
• anyone who donates to any of the entities listed above.

There are also obligations relating to nominated entities, which were previously included in the Electoral Act 2002.

From 15 April 2026:

• If you make or receive a political donation of $1,250 or more, you must disclose the donation using our online system VEC Disclosures. This includes where multiple donations are made to the same recipient that total $1,250 or more. Donations must be disclosed within 21 days, unless it was made or received between 15 April and 9 June 2026 (see below)
• There is a general cap for political donations of $5,030. A single donor cannot donate more than the general cap to a single recipient between 15 April and 28 November 2026. This includes when a donor makes multiple donations to the same recipient that add up to more than the general cap
• Foreign donations are banned. Donations may only be made by Australian citizens, residents or businesses
• Anonymous donations of $1,250 or more are banned
• Banned donations may be forfeited to the state
• Eligible registered political parties and independent candidates can apply to be a new entrant. Ahead of the 2026 state election, new entrants have a higher general donation cap of $10,060 from each donor
• Donations of $100 or less do not count towards the disclosure threshold or 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 receive political donations or incur political expenditure
• You may be required to provide an annual return each financial year that you receive political donations. Annual returns by certain entity types must also be audited and include an audit certificate.

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

Rules for donations between 15 April to 9 June 2026

For political donations made and received between 15 April to 9 June 2026:

• where the donation was $1,250 or more, the donation must be disclosed by 9 July 2026. This includes where multiple donations are made to the same recipient that total $1,250 or more. This obligation also applies to nominated entities
• where the donation was above the $5,030 general cap, the donation amount must be returned to the donor by 9 July 2026
• foreign donations and anonymous donations of $1,250 or higher must be forfeited to the state.

Rules for registered political parties and their nominated entities

In addition to the requirements applying for all political donations, registered political parties and nominated entities must disclose gifts of $5,030 or more exchanged between each other between 15 April and 9 June 2026. Donation amounts over the general cap must also be repaid by 9 July 2026.

Registered political parties must repay any amounts to nominated entities by 28 November 2026, if the amounts:

• were given by the nominated entity between 25 November 2018 and 14 April 2026
• were over $5,030 and
• remained in the party's state campaign account on 15 April 2026.

What is a political donation?

A political donation is any gift made to:

• political parties registered in Victoria
• candidates at a Victorian state election
• groups of candidates in Legislative Council region elections
• an elected member of the Victorian Parliament
• an associated entity operating 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 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).

Related bodies corporate are taken to be the same donor for the purposes of donation laws, including the general cap.

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 for federal elections

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

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.

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.