DARK MONEY

The hidden millions in Australia's political finance system

follow the money trail

OUR SYSTEM is broken

Australian law requires all payments to politicians over $13,200 to be publicly declared - an important public transparency measure to stop corruption.

But right now there are some gaping legal loopholes that see tens of millions of dollars funnelled into the pockets of our politicians with no oversight, no accountability.

By piecing together fragments of publicly available data, our research reveals the full extent of hidden 'Dark Money' flooding our political system.

Welcome to the world of Dark Money - 
where only 15% of payments to major parties are transparently disclosed.

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: HOW DO THE PARTIES STACK UP?

THE LIBERAL PARTY

Last election the Liberal Party transparently declared only 13% of their total private income.

The Liberal Party declared $8.98 million transparently, funnelled a further $5.5 million of donations through "affiliated entities", and listed $8.97 million as "other receipts". A full $45.9 million of their income was undisclosed Dark Money.

66% of the Liberal Party's private income last election came from undisclosed Dark Money.

Over the past decade, Dark Money has increased as a proportion of the Liberal Party's total income.

THE Labor PArty

Last election the Labor Party transparently declared 21% of their total private income.

Australian law requires all payments to politicians over $13,200 to be publicly declared. The Labor Party discloses more than they are required to, having made a public commitment to declare all payments over $1,000.

Labor declared $10.4 million transparently and listed $15 million as "other receipts" (note: Labor listed all income from affiliated entities as "other receipts"). A full $24.4 million of their income was entirely undisclosed Dark Money.

49% of the Labor Party's private income last election came from undisclosed Dark Money.

Over the past decade, the proportion of Labor Party income from Dark Money has remained about steady.

The Nationals

The Nationals run multiple "affiliated entities" and list a range of different income as "other receipts". The proportion of undisclosed income as a share of total income is higher than for the major parties - but the total sums involved are far smaller.

In the 2013-14 election year, the Nationals declared $0.5 million transparently, listed $0.9 million as "other receipts". $4 million of their income was undisclosed Dark Money.

70% of the Nationals private income in 2013-14 came from undisclosed Dark Money.

The total income of the Nationals - including Dark Money - is tiny compared to the income of the major parties.

The Greens

The Greens' financial returns are different to the other parties - they don't run "affiliated entities" and declare only a tiny fraction of their income as "other receipts".  Their proportion of undisclosed income is the highest of all the parties, however the total sums involved are far lower.

Australian law requires all payments to politicians over $13,200 to be publicly declared. The Greens disclose more than they are required to, having made a public commitment to declare all payments over $1,000. The Greens also publish this information on their website.

In the 2013-14 election year, the Greens declared $1.4 million transparently. $8.9 million income was undisclosed Dark Money.

85% of the Greens private income in 2013-14 came from undisclosed Dark Money. 

The total income of the Greens - including Dark Money - is tiny compared to the income of the major parties.

HIDING THE MONEY TRAIL - HOW DO THEY DO IT?

Although there are some legitimate reasons why Dark Money may not be declared, it is a loophole that can be exploited.

Dark Money is hidden in three main ways...

Affiliated Entities

Political parties have set up a range of "affiliated entities" or fundraising clubs - such as The Free Enterprise Foundation (Liberal) and Labor Holdings (ALP) - to obscure the origins of payments they receive.

other receipts

Political parties use creative accounting techniques to classify payments as "other receipts" instead of "donations" - meaning they get mixed in with all other income like share dividends and service fees for reporting purposes.

Donation Splitting

Donations over $13,200 need to be disclosed, but by splitting payments into smaller chunks donors can avoid detection. These might be distributed between party state and territory branches, or staggered over different days. This is the biggest loophole for Dark Money.

Using just donation splitting, it's possible to funnel half a million dollars per year to major political parties without disclosing a cent.

HOW CAN WE FIX THE SYSTEM?

Together we can put people back at the heart of our democracy - here's what we need to do:

  1. End the shroud of secrecy: require all donations above $500 to be publicly disclosed on the internet in real-time, including donations to and from affiliated entities.
  2. Stop the money game: cap the amount any individual or corporation can donate at $1000 per financial year, and introduce expenditure caps on election campaigns.
  3. Stop offshore entities buying political influence: prohibit any corporation not registered in Australia, or any individual who doesn't have citizenship or residency, from making donations.
  4. A corruption watchdog with teeth: create an independent federal corruption watchdog with broad investigative powers.
  5. Close the revolving door: prevent Members of Parliament from engaging in lobbying work for a period of three years after they leave office.

To make our message heard over the flood of Dark Money, we need to speak together with one voice. Add your name today!

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This website was made possible by the 3,300 incredible GetUp members that chipped in to fund groundbreaking research into Big Money in politics. Please note that all figures in this report exclude public funding and payments made between different branches of the same political party.

Follow this link to see the full Dark Money report: https://www.getup.org.au/dark-money-full-report

Authorised by Paul Oosting, 14/338 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000