The source of more than $138m in donations to Australian political parties remains unknown, thanks to contributions that fall below the disclosure threshold in the federal electoral system that are known as “dark money”.
The Australian Electoral Commission’s release of the 2024-25 political financial disclosure reports found a record amount of donations made to the major parties. There was also a record in terms of all money declared.
But the AEC data also revealed political parties have received large amounts of money that did not have a declared source. Current rules allow the sources of donations under $16,900 to not be disclosed.
That disclosure threshold will be lowered to $5,000 from 1 July, with donations to be reported on a monthly – rather than an annual – basis. Those reforms also place a $50,000 cap on the amount a party can receive from one source, which has been unlimited under the current rules.
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But in the lead-up to the May 2025 election, the source of $138,321,731 to five parties – Labor, the Liberals, the Greens, the Nationals and One Nation – was not declared, a Guardian Australian analysis of the AEC figures revealed.
It comes after analysis following last year’s release of the 2023-24 figures found that of the $156m in receipts from Labor, the Coalition and Greens, the source for $67.2m was not declared.
Much of this cash could be from ordinary citizens giving smaller donations well below the disclosure cap.
But integrity and transparency experts said the current system also allowed large donors to make multiple donations of relatively small amounts to avoid their transactions being made public, even if the total amount exceeded the $16,900 cap on individual contributions.
Clancy Moore, the chief executive of Transparency International Australia, said even tougher laws were required to restore integrity to the donations system.
“The new legislation doesn’t go far enough to reduce the risk of big money corrupting the political system. Sectors such as gambling, fossil fuels and aviation will still be able to exert significant sway, with each state party or candidates permitted to receive up to $50,000 per donor annually,” he said.
The Liberals received the largest amount of dark money, amounting to $74.7m of their overall receipt of $205m. Labor, which had $162m donated to it, received $36.7m from unknown sources, while the Nationals received $14.3m, with $4.5m in dark money.
One Nation had the highest percentage of funding from unknown sources, which accounted for $2.6m of their $3.2m received – about 79%. The Greens had 55% ($19.8m) of their $36m in donations from unknown sources.
Big donors identified
Clive Palmer’s company Mineralogy was the largest single donor in the 2024-25 period, handing Trumpet of Patriots $53.1m. The company also donated $302,901 to Palmer’s United Australia party. The massive spend resulted in limited success, with neither party winning any seats in the federal election.
Some of Labor’s biggest declared donations include $3m from the Mining and Energy Union, two donations of $1m each from Pratt Holdings, and $500,000 from Fox Group Holdings, along with contributions from the party’s state branches.
The Liberal party’s biggest donations included $900,000 from Oryxium Investments, and $500,000 each from Doordash Technologies, Fox Group, Meriton Property Services and Pratt Holdings.
The Greens declared $600,000 from the CEPU’s Electrical Division, and $500,000 from Duncan Turpie.
One Nation declared receiving cash from its elected representatives, including receipts of $245,000 from its leader, Pauline Hanson; $60,000 from senator Malcolm Roberts; and $40,000 from Warwick Stacey, who was elected as a senator for NSW in the May election but resigned shortly after due to health issues.
It also reported owing a debt of $20,000 to “M Roberts”, and $93,652 to “P Hanson”.
Moore was critical of “opaque cash” and “limited public transparency” in the electoral system.
“While declared donations tell part of the story, a substantial volume of funding remains effectively hidden from view due to the $16,900 disclosure threshold,” he said.
“To restore public confidence, stronger transparency is needed – including full disclosure of all ‘cash-for-access’ payments, a further reduction of the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000, as previously proposed and corporate transparency register so the public can see who is really behind secret donations.”
