Fines or Up to 2 Years Jail for Political Donations from Property Developers, Banks, and Certain Other Industries
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Banning Dirty Donations) Bill 2026
Private Member's BillSenate
House of Representatives
Assent
Topics
campaign finance criminal penalties donor restrictions election funding elections government accountability government transparency political donations political transparency
Introduced by: Senator Steph Hodgins-May (GRN)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
Bans political donations from property developers; financial institutions; tobacco; liquor; gambling; mineral; fossil fuel; defence; and pharmaceutical entities
Criminalises making; accepting; or soliciting donations on behalf of these prohibited donors
Sets jail time up to 2 years or fines for those who break the donation ban
Imposes civil penalties of 200 penalty units (2026: $72,800) or three times the gift value for banned donations
Slashes the annual gift cap from $50,000 to $1,000; by-election and Senate-only caps drop to $3,000
Classifies party subscriptions and affiliation fees as gifts unless they are for membership and under $1,000 a year
Forces recipients of unlawful gifts to pay the value of the gift back to the Commonwealth