Federal Committee's Review of Political Donations Commences

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (the Committee) has announced the start of its review of political donations, a review that forms part of its more general inquiry into the Conduct of the 2016 Federal Election.

The Committee's Terms of Reference

The Committee's Terms of Reference require the Committee to inquire into and report on all aspects of the conduct of the 2016 Federal Election and matters related to the election; and break down into two key broad areas:

1. Matters of Electoral Communications and Mechanics

• The application of provisions requiring authorisation of electoral material to all forms of communication to voters; 
• The potential applicability of "truth in advertising" provisions to communication to voters including third-party carriage services; 
• The options available to Parliament to ensure consistent application of disclosure rules to and the regulation of all entities undertaking campaign activities; and
• The potential application of new technology to voting, scrutiny and counting, with particular reference to its application to remote voting, ADF personnel on deployment and supporting vision-impaired voters. 

2. Matters Relating to donations

Foreign Donations 
The extent of donations and contributions from foreign sources, persons, entities and foreign-owned subsidiaries to political parties, associated entities and other third parties and entities undertaking campaign activities, and the options available to Parliament to regulate these. 

Political Donations Generally
The current donations, contributions, expenditure and disclosure regime, its application and timeliness and alternative approaches available to Parliament. 

The extent to which fundraising and expenditure by third parties is conducted in concert with registered political parties  and the applicability and utilisation of tax deductibility by entities involved in campaign activities.

The Committee's Work So Far

To date the Committee has produced interim reports in the areas of: 

• the authorisation of voter communication (see First Interim Report);
• foreign political donations (see Second Interim Report); and
• the operation of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the need to modernise (see Third Interim Report) 

The Committee released its First Interim Report covering "voter communication" on 9 December 2016, the Second Interim Report covering "foreign donations" was released in March 2017 and highlighted the complexity of political donations more generally; and the Third Interim Report on the AEC was released in June 2017 and looked closely at the operation of the AEC and its ability to run modern elections effectively.

What the Committee is Seeking to Achieve 

The committee is seeking a multi-partisan review that will answer questions concerning transparency, political campaigning and the scope for /or need for changing legal definitions within the Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) (the Electoral Act). The Committee Chair Senator Linda Reynolds is quoted in a Media Release as saying:

While the Committee's Deputy Chair Andrew Giles MP has said in the same Media Release:

In the Committee's inquiry, the potential effects of political donations, including the potential to corrupt, are an important line of investigation for some Committee members - Committee member Senator Lee Rhiannon is quoted as saying:

The review will also also to consider the "contemporary context" and other aspects of Part XX (Election funding and financial disclosure) of the Electoral Act.

The Committee's Next Steps

The Committee has invited interested organisations and individuals to make submissions, including those who have already made submissions to the inquiry. Submissions "must address" the terms of reference and are due by close of business Monday 4 September 2017. Public hearings begin 15 September 2017 going through to 20 October 2017, and further dates as required.

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Inquiry into and report on all aspects of the conduct of the 2016 Federal Election and matters related thereto (Committee website)

 Review of political donations commences (Media Release)

Political Donations Inquiry Set to Give Charities and Not-For-Profits a Voice