Politics and money are tied together in multiple ways in Australia.
As part of attempts to level the playing field, there are restrictions on funding that vary from Federal to State to Territory elections.
For NSW elections, donations of more than $100 (including multiple smaller donations that take an individual’s gifting to more than $100) must be made electronically to allow for better tracking.
Any cash donations over that limit are the property of NSW, not the candidate.
There are also supports for parties and candidates who satisfy the eligibility criteria of the NSW Electoral Funding Act 2018 (sections 66 and 68) and who were not excluded (section 70).
They can be eligible for payments from the Election Campaigns Fund for campaign expenditure in the 2023 NSW State Election.
The following parties have received/may receive payments from the Election Campaigns Fund for electoral expenditure in connection with the coming State Election.
The list is in the form:
Party name: Amount of advance payment of up to 50% of the party’s entitlement in the 2019 NSW State Election
Animal Justice Party: $51,001
Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch): $3,962,490
The Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division: $4,902,399
National Party of Australia – NSW: $1,696,679
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation: $217,750
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (NSW): $711,419
The Greens NSW: $1,440,571
At this stage, no candidates have received payments from the Election Campaigns Fund for the 2023 NSW State election.
and then