Firms seeking government deals would face donation ban
Senator Larissa Waters wants a 12-month ban on big donations from companies that ask for federal grants, contracts or approvals. It would affect businesses, their bosses and their lobbyists.
Official name: Electoral Legislation Amendment (Fairer Contracts and Grants) Bill 2023
- A company seeking a federal grant, contract or approval could not give a big donation to the party in government.
- The ban covers the time of the application and the 12 months after the result.
- It also covers the company's directors, big shareholders, their partners and its lobbyists. Directors are the people who run a company. Lobbyists are people paid to sway the government.
- Deals won against the rules would be cancelled and the money taken back.
- It is a private bill, meaning the government did not bring it. It has not been voted on.
Who it affects
- Companies that apply for federal money or approvals: For a set time, they could not give the party in government a donation big enough that it must be made public.
- Company directors, officers and big shareholders: They and their husbands, wives or partners would be caught by the same ban.
- Lobbyists hired by a company: They could not donate to the party in government for the company while the ban runs.
- The party in government: It could not take these donations, including through a partner party.
- Parties not in government: The ban does not apply to gifts made to them.
Donors seeking government deals
The federal government hands out a lot of money and permission. It gives grants and signs contracts. It also approves big projects, such as mines under the national nature law.
Companies that want these things can also give money to political parties. Senator Larissa Waters says this can let donors sway choices their way.
Her bill changes the main federal election law, from 1918. She says the aim is for the public to trust that choices are made for the public good. She says donors should not shape them.
Who could not donate
The bill creates a new group called a "prohibited donor". That means a banned donor. It is a company that has bid for a government contract or signed one. It is also a company that has asked for a grant, or for an approval, licence or permit.
The ban also catches people and firms close to the company. These are linked companies, directors and officers, and anyone with more than 20% of the votes in the company. Their husbands, wives and partners count too. So does a lobbyist the company hires to talk to the government.
The bill's notes say the net is wide on purpose. Without it, a company could get a director's partner to give the money.
How long the ban lasts
The ban starts on the day the company applies, bids or signs the contract. It ends 12 months after the company is told the final result. That applies whether it wins or loses.
The bill also works the other way. A company or someone close to it might give a banned donation. Then the company cannot get federal money or an approval for 12 months after.
Say a building firm bids for a federal road contract in March. It cannot give the party in government a big donation from then until a year after it hears the result. Its directors cannot either.
Which donations and parties
Only big donations are banned. Big means over the amount where a donation must be made public. The bill does not change that amount, or when donations must be reported.
Only the party in government is covered. That includes linked parties, such as a partner party it governs with. A company could still donate to parties not in government.
Penalties and money returned
A company or person who breaks the ban would face a fine set by a court. It is not a criminal charge. The fine would be 200 penalty units or three times the donation, whichever is higher. A penalty unit is a set dollar amount used to work out fines.
A deal made against the ban would be void. That means it no longer counts. The federal government could take back any money it paid.
The bill also adds rules to stop people dodging the ban. The head of the Australian Electoral Commission makes choices under those rules. That is the agency that runs federal elections. People could ask for those choices to be looked at again inside the agency.
The notes say people who give false facts about their donations in an application would also be fined.
Waiting in the Senate
The law would start the day after the Governor-General, the King's representative, signs it. It would only cover donations made from that day on.
Senator Waters brought the bill to the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 4 September 2023. It ran out of time when Parliament ended on 21 July 2025, with no vote. It was put back on the Senate's to-do list on 23 July 2025.
It is still before the Senate. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives, where the government is formed, would need to pass it before it could become law.
Its journey through Parliament
| 04 Sep 2023 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 04 Sep 2023 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 21 Jul 2025 | Senate: Lapsed at end of Parliament |
| 23 Jul 2025 | Senate: Restored to Notice Paper |