Information for donors
We have updated this page after changes to the Electoral Act 2002. These changes refer to rules about funding and donation disclosure.
Read this information carefully. Your legal duties have changed under the new laws.
On this page:
What is a political donor?
Political donors are Australian citizens, residents or businesses that give money or other gifts to:
- registered political parties, including their endorsed candidates and elected members
- independent candidates
- groups of candidates in Legislative Council region elections
- independent members of Parliament
- associated entities operating in Victoria
- third-party campaigners operating in Victoria.
Who can make political donations?
Donations can be made by any:
- Australian citizen
- Australian resident
- organisation with a registered business number such as an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Related bodies corporate count as one donor under donation laws. This includes the general cap. This means that two or more corporate entities within the same organisational or corporate structure have a shared general cap.
You cannot make a political donation if you are not an:
- Australian citizen
- Australian resident, or
- an organisation with a registered business number such as an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Donation limits
Between 15 April and 28 November 2026 you cannot:
- donate more than the general cap to any one recipient
- donate to more than 6 third-party campaigners
A registered political party, its endorsed candidates and elected members count as one recipient. Together, your donations to:
- the party
- its endorsed candidates
- its elected members.
must not exceed the general cap.
This rule also applies to groups of independent candidates for the Legislative Council (upper house).
If you go over the cap:
- the breaching donation must be given to the state by the recipient.
- You may face other penalties.
Exceptions
The one exception to the cap applies to registered new entrants.
They must:
- be approved by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC)
- stay registered until after election day.
Registered new entrants can receive up to double the general cap from one donor.
When do I need to disclose a donation I made?
You must disclose the donation on VEC Disclosures within 21 days of making a donation equal to or higher than the disclosure threshold value.
After you reach the disclosure threshold, you must report each additional donation within 21 days of making it.
If you make multiple donations to the same recipient in a financial year, and the total equals or exceeds the disclosure threshold, you must disclose each of these donations within 21 days of reaching the disclosure threshold.
Examples
Example 1
Rakesh donates $2,000 to his preferred political party. Rakesh must disclose his donation within 21 days of donating.
Rakesh discloses his donation using VEC Disclosures.
Example 2
Mary wants to donate $1,500 to her local independent Member of Parliament (MP).
Mary sets up a bank transfer to donate $500 to her MP every 2 months starting on 1 July.
After Mary’s third donation in November, her donations total $1,500. This exceeds the disclosure threshold. Mary must disclose the donations in 21 days of reaching the disclosure threshold.
Mary discloses her donations using VEC Disclosures for each of the 3 payments in July, September and November.Example 3
Joe donates $3,000 to an independent candidate in July and discloses the donation to VEC Disclosures.
In October, Joe makes 2 more donations of $500 to the same independent candidate. Though each donation is under the disclosure threshold, these are added to the first donation of $3,000.
Joe’s donations exceed the disclosure threshold. This means Joe must disclose both $500 donations on VEC Disclosures within 21 days of donating.
Joe must make sure he does not donate more than the general cap to the independent candidate between 15 April and 28 November 2026.
Example 4
Jane’s company donates $5,000 to a political party in October
A subsidiary of this company also donates $5,000 to the same political party in November.
As the second company is a subsidiary of the first company, these companies are related bodies corporate and are the same donor for the purposes of the general cap.
Jane’s companies have breached the general cap and the second donation must be forfeited to the state by the party.
Do all donations need to be disclosed?
No. You do not need to disclose if your donations to a single recipient are under the disclosure threshold.
You do not need to disclose donations of $100 or less.
It is an offence to make multiple small donations to avoid disclosure or to avoid the general cap.
What information do I need to disclose?
You must provide:
- the date you made the donation
- the type of donation (for example money, service, loan, guarantee, property)
- the amount of the donation.
We may also ask for evidence for the donation.
We will publish these details on VEC Disclosures, except for your full address. Your suburb and state will be published.
If you are a silent elector, we will not publish any of your address details. You can declare yourself as a silent elector when you register with VEC Disclosures.
Penalties
There are fines and possible prison terms if you do not comply with political donation laws.
If you give a prohibited political donation and the recipient accepts it, they must forfeit your donation to us.
All fine amounts are indexed annually. Learn more about indexation.
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Action |
Consequence |
|---|---|
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Not disclosing a donation of or above the disclosure threshold within 21 days of making the donation. This includes multiple donations to one recipient that in total meet or go above the threshold. |
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|
Giving false or misleading information about a donation. |
300 penalty units or up to 2 years' prison time, or both |
|
Not keeping evidence of a donation (for example a receipt) for at least 4 years after the donation. |
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Giving a banned donation on purpose. Banned donations are:
|
300 penalty units or 2 years' prison time
|
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Planning or acting out a scheme to get around prohibited donation laws. |
Up to 10 years' prison time. |
Make a disclosure
To disclose a political donation or view existing donations, visit VEC Disclosures.
VEC Disclosures is best viewed using Google Chrome.
If you cannot access VEC Disclosures, please email disclosures@vec.vic.gov.au or call us on 03 8620 1356.