This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Government & democracy
Political donations over $1,000 would have to be disclosed instead of the current threshold above $16,000, making more campaign money visible to the public.
The 2022 election of more community independents exposed that electoral rules still favour parties and incumbents over the political choice communities want. This bill lowers and speeds up donation disclosure, bans some deceptive ads and donations, and gives independents fairer access to electoral rules and data.
Before this bill, federal electoral law still gave political parties and incumbents advantages, let donations above an indexed $16,300 threshold stay out of public view until later disclosures, and left parties exempt from some privacy and spam rules. The election of more community independents in 2022, followed by a 2023 push for tighter political finance rules, sharpened demands for cleaner and fairer elections, so Kate Chaney introduced this bill to force near real-time disclosureA rule requiring both the donor and the recipient to report a donation within 5 business days so the public can see it quickly., curb deceptive ads and some donations, and give independents party-like access to key electoral arrangements, but it was later removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; if a bill is removed from it, it stops moving forward..
The main criticism was that tighter donation and spending-style rules could accidentally lock in the major parties and make it harder for independents and new challengers to compete. That concern appears to have been raised mainly by the teal independent movement in public commentary, while the parliamentary speeches provided here were supportive rather than oppositional.
Kate Chaney MP introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from some crossbenchThe MPs who are not in the main governing or opposition party blocs, including many independents. members.
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
225 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
Political donations over $1,000 would have to be disclosed instead of the current threshold above $16,000, making more campaign money visible to the public.
Donors and recipients would have to report donations above $1,000 within 5 business days, so voters could see who is funding parties and candidates before they vote.
Political ads and referendum ads would be banned from making materially misleading or deceptive claims presented as facts.
Tobacco, gambling and liquor businesses, and major Commonwealth contractors or bidders, would be blocked from making political donations.
Political parties and members of parliament would lose privacy and spam law exemptions, and registered independent candidates could set up an entity that gets party-like access to the electoral roll and reporting timelines.
lower the donation disclosure threshold from $16,300 to a fixed $1,000 (lower the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000);Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum
require real-time disclosure of donations above the disclosure threshold of $1,000 by both the donor and recipient within 5 business days of the donation threshold being exceeded (real-time disclosure);Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum
prohibit misleading or deceptive electoral or referendum matter in terms of the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Stop the Lies) Bill 2022 presented by Zali Steggall OAM MP (truth in political advertising);Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum
prohibit political donations from entities that inflict social harm for profit, such as tobacco, gambling and liquor business entities (social harm donations);Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum
establish an ‘independent campaign entity’ that upon registration will enable a registered independent candidate to be treated the same way as a ‘political party’ under the Electoral Act and related legislation, including access to the electoral roll and financial disclosure timelines (an independent campaign entity to be treated as a political party);Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum
Context
Before this bill, federal electoral law still gave political parties and incumbents advantages, let donations above an indexed $16,300 threshold stay out of public view until later disclosures, and left parties exempt from some privacy and spam rules. The election of more community independents in 2022, followed by a 2023 push for tighter political finance rules, sharpened demands for cleaner and fairer elections, so Kate Chaney introduced this bill to force near real-time disclosureA rule requiring both the donor and the recipient to report a donation within 5 business days so the public can see it quickly., curb deceptive ads and some donations, and give independents party-like access to key electoral arrangements, but it was later removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; if a bill is removed from it, it stops moving forward..
High Court upholds properly targeted limits on political donations
The explanatory memorandum said the McCloy v New South Wales ruling confirmed donation restrictions can be valid if they fit the system of representative democracy.
Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum ↗More community independents win seats at the federal election
The explanatory memorandum said the expanded crossbenchThe MPs who are not in the main governing or opposition party blocs, including many independents. showed communities wanted more political choice than rules built around parties and incumbents were delivering.
Electoral Legislation Amendment (Restoring Trust) explanatory memorandum ↗Parliamentary inquiry backs tighter political donation and spending rules
The Australian Financial Review reported a Labor-dominated inquiry recommended donation and campaign spending limits to curb an electoral arms race and the influence of wealthy donors.
Australian Financial Review ↗Kate Chaney introduces the Restoring Trust bill
The bill proposed lowering the disclosure threshold to $1,000, requiring both sides to report donations above that level within five business days, banning some misleading political advertising and restricting donations from tobacco, gambling, liquor and major Commonwealth contractor interests.
Parliamentary timeline and explanatory memorandum ↗Sponsors frame the bill as a response to secrecy and distrust
In second reading debate, supporters argued voters could not properly judge politicians if they did not know who was funding them and pointed to evidence of deep public distrust in politics.
Hansard ↗The bill is removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; if a bill is removed from it, it stops moving forward.
Its removal from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; if a bill is removed from it, it stops moving forward. ended the bill's active parliamentary progress without the proposed electoral integrity changes being enacted.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Considered by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills on 06 Sep 2023.
Considered by scrutiny committee
APH bill page notesThe bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main criticism was that tighter donation and spending-style rules could accidentally lock in the major parties and make it harder for independents and new challengers to compete. That concern appears to have been raised mainly by the teal independent movement in public commentary, while the parliamentary speeches provided here were supportive rather than oppositional.
Criticism recorded here was narrow and mostly about competitive effects, not the bill’s overall integrity goals.
Could disadvantage independents
The sharpest recorded concern was that lower donation thresholds and related campaign-finance restrictions could favour established major parties with existing machines, while making it harder for teal and other independent candidates to raise enough money to compete effectively.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Chaney supports the bill and says it would improve transparency, reduce financial influence and make elections fairer.
Read in Hansard ↗Steggall supports the bill and says it is needed to restore trust in democracy by strengthening integrity, transparency and limits on political and financial influence.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
2 speakers · 2 support
“I commend this bill to the House and look forward to discussing these reforms with the government.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill contains 13 provisions aimed at restoring trust in our democracy through building in protections for integrity. These provisions have broad support from across the crossbench and the political spectrum in our communities.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42)
Removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; if a bill is removed from it, it stops moving forward. in accordance with (SO 42)
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Considered by scrutiny committee
Considered by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills on 06 Sep 2023.
APH bill page notes