In December 2021, the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Act 2021 was passed by the Federal Parliament. This Amending Act has made some changes to the existing registration and disclosure scheme under the Electoral Act.

Importantly, the ACNC still regards Issues based advocacy as a legitimate and important part of achieving charitable outcomes. So, you can keep funding advocacy!

How does this legislation affect me as a donor?

If you have donated more than $14,500 in the 21/22 FY to a charity that is considered a “third party” or “significant third party” under the Electoral Act (you can check the AEC’s Transparency Register if you are unsure) and if they have used all, or part of your donation to incur electoral expenditure (find out here what electoral expenditure is) then the charity may be required to add you to their annual return and you may be required to fill in a donor disclosure form (which is currently not available on the AEC website).

The Human Rights Law Centre has a great explainer on this new legislation which you can find here. At this stage there is nothing to be concerned about and nothing to action, we will continue to monitor granting from ACF managed funds and advise accordingly if there are any further updates on the matter.