Financial Disclosure Guide for Associated Entities
Updated: 6 July 2016
Appendix 2: Disclosure Legislative Reference Guide
Part XX of the Act deals with election funding and financial disclosure. It contains seven divisions:
- Division 1 provides definitions relevant to the part. Note that section 4 of the Act contains definitions relevant to the Act as a whole;
- Division 2 deals with the appointment and administration of party agents and candidate agents;
- Division 3 deals with election funding;
- Divisions 4 and 5 deal with the disclosure of election donations and electoral expenditure by candidates and Senate groups and disclosures by donors to political parties and candidates;
- Division 5A deals with the annual returns of registered political parties, associated entities and third parties who incur electoral expenditure and receive any gifts/donations for political expenditure; and
- Division 6 deals with offences, compliance investigations, incomplete and amended returns, public inspection and indexation.
The following sections underpin the financial returns disclosure scheme:
Candidate (including Senate group member) election period returns
- election donations–s.304(2)
- electoral expenditure–s.308 and s.309(2)
- nil returns required–s.307(1) and s.313(1)
Senate group election period returns
- election donations–s.304(3)
- electoral expenditure–s308 and s.309(3)
- returns not required if group endorsed by a single party–s.304(3A) and s.309(1A)
- nil returns required–s.307(2) and s.313(2)
Donor election period returns
- donations to candidates–s.305A(1)
- donations received–s.305A(2)
Donor annual returns
- donations to political parties–s.305B
- donations received–s.305B(3A)
Third party annual returns
- political expenditure–s.314AEB
- gifts received for political expenditure–s.314AEC
Associated entity annual returns
- receipts–s.314AEA(1)(a)
- payments–s.314AEA(1)(b)
- debts–s.314AEA(1)(c)
- capital contributions–s.314AEA(3)
Political party annual returns
- receipts–s.314AB and s.314AC
- payments–s.314AB
- loans–s.314AB and s.314AE
The following sections are also directly relevant to the Commonwealth funding and disclosure scheme:
- Unlawful gifts–s.306
- Unlawful loans–s.306A
- Offences–s.315
- Compliance investigations and investigations–s.316
- Records to be kept–s.317
- Incomplete information–s.318
- Amendment of returns–s.319A
- Public inspection of returns–s.320