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Political Campaigners Bill passed

Changes to electoral laws were passed by parliament in December, which will impose more regulation on charities and other organisations that engage in the electoral process.

One of the main changes in the new law is the introduction of a lower threshold for organisations having to register as a so-called “political campaigner”. Previously, an organisation had to register as a political campaigner if it exceeded $500,000 in electoral expenditure (money spent on campaigns, advertising and any other advocacy work seeking to influence voters in an election) in any of the past three years. This threshold has now been lowered to $250,000. More charities will now be required to register as political campaigners and be subject to the additional reporting obligations this entails, including identifying their larger donors.

In addition to lowering the threshold, the bill also broadens the type of expenditure that is relevant for determining if an organisation is subject to any reporting and other obligations. Now, any expenditure “in relation to an election” must be counted, but there is no guidance as to what this actually means. In addition, it will apply retrospectively to money already spent by an organisation. Charities will have to look back at their spending and see if it constitutes an “electoral expenditure” using the more vague definition now in place, and determine whether this places them in the category of a political campaigner. “Political campaigners” will actually no longer be referred to by this name – the term will change to “significant third parties”.

To view the bill and all amendments, click here.
To view information from NFPLaw on disclosure obligations, click here.

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