Political Money
Who funds Australian politics — and what do they get in return? 312,933 donation records from 1998-1999 to 2024-25, cross-referenced against 770K government contracts. 0 entities appear on both sides: donating to parties AND winning government work.
Source: Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) disclosure returns × AusTender contract data. Cross-referenced by Australian Business Number (ABN).
Party Funding
Where the money goes. Total political donations by recipient party or associated entity, ranked by total amount received. Includes direct party donations and affiliated organisation flows.
Major Parties & Affiliated Entities
Other Major Recipients (Unions, Associated Entities)
Top 30 Political Donors
The biggest donors to Australian politics by total disclosed amount. Entities with a government contract match are flagged — they appear on both sides.
| # | Donor | Total Donated | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Electoral Commission ABN: 21133285851 Australian Christ...Australian Conser...Australian DemocratsAustralian Democr...Australian Democr...+80 more | $1.0B | — |
| 2 | Mineralogy Pty Ltd ABN: 65010582680 Australian Labor ...Forward Brisbane ...Liberal Democrati...Liberal National ...Liberal Party (W....+10 more | $575.2M | — |
| 3 | Sino Iron Pty Ltd & Korean Steel Pty Ltd ABN: 20058429600 MINERALOGY PTY LTD | $524.3M | — |
| 4 | New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association ABN: 63398164405 Australian Counci...Australian Nursin... | $345.2M | — |
| 5 | Incolink ABN: 17530605430 Australian Rail T...Automotive Food M...CEPU Plumbing Div...CFMEU Constructio...CFMEU Constructio...+7 more | $317.1M | — |
| 6 | Westpac Banking Corporation ABN: 33007457141 250 Club LimitedA.C.N. 009 936 01...A.C.N. 010 507 61...AEU NSW Teachers ...Altum Pty Ltd as ...+96 more | $298.5M | — |
| 7 | Greaton Development Pty Ltd ABN: 34620994103 United Workers Union | $291.1M | — |
| 8 | MINERALOGY PTY LTD ABN: 65010582680 Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Clive Palmer's Un...Forward Brisbane ...LIB-FED+23 more | $286.2M | — |
| 9 | Australian Taxation Office ABN: 34190894983 281 Sandgate Road...500 Club of New S...A.C.N. 009 936 01...A.C.N. 010 507 61...Advance Australia+178 more | $256.7M | — |
| 10 | Victorian Electoral Commission ABN: 46583749552 Animal Justice PartyAustralian Democr...Australian Greens...Australian GreensVictorian Branch+12 more | $245.9M | — |
| 11 | NSW Electoral Commission ABN: 94828824124 Animal Justice PartyAustralian Cyclis...Christian Democra...Liberal Party of ...NSW Division+3 more | $210.0M | — |
| 12 | NSW ELECTORAL COMMISSION ABN: 94828824124 Australian Labor ...Country Labor PartyLiberal Party of ...NSW Division | $206.5M | — |
| 13 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN: 48123123124 Australasian Meat...Australasian Meat...Australian DemocratsAustralian Democr...Australian Democr...+107 more | $197.4M | — |
| 14 | Cardtronics Canberra Labor Cl... | $196.8M | — |
| 15 | Abelshore ABN: 86068703542 ConstructionForestryMaritime Employee...Mining and Energy... | $171.3M | — |
| 16 | Pulse Canberra Labor Cl... | $162.1M | — |
| 17 | Prosegur Australia Pty Ltd ABN: 88081368327 Canberra Labor Cl... | $152.4M | — |
| 18 | BERT Training Fund ABN: 38357072053 Aust Building Con...CEPU Plumbing Div...CommunicationsElectrical and Pl...Energy and Servic...+6 more | $140.3M | — |
| 19 | Commonwealth Bank ABN: 48123123124 Communication Wor...Labor Holdings Pt... | $132.5M | — |
| 20 | Labor Holdings Pty Ltd ABN: 95009694768 Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Labor Resources P...Queensland First ... | $122.7M | — |
| 21 | LLSZ Holdings Pty Ltd as trustee for LLSZ Premiere Unit Trust ABN: 36639675228 Community and Pub... | $122.6M | — |
| 22 | Electoral Commission of Queensland ABN: 69195695244 Australian Democr...Australian Labor ...Katter's Australi...Liberal National ...Liberal Party of ...+5 more | $115.4M | — |
| 23 | Pulse ABN: 24628013507 Canberra Labor Cl... | $105.2M | — |
| 24 | EZE ATM Canberra Labor Cl... | $103.8M | — |
| 25 | Finance Sector Union of Australia ABN: 27843406938 Australian GreensAustralian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...+7 more | $103.3M | — |
| 26 | Woolworths Ltd ABN: 88000014675 Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Australian Labor ...Cormack Foundatio...Labor Holdings Pt...+8 more | $91.4M | — |
| 27 | CEPU Electrical Division NSW ABN: 96000538803 Electrical Trades... | $89.7M | — |
| 28 | Liberal Party of Australia ABN: 15217882958 A.C.N. 009 936 01...Country Liberal P...Liberal Asset Man...Liberal National ...Liberal Party (W....+7 more | $85.9M | — |
| 29 | 112 Trenerry Crescent Pty Ltd ABN: 0 Australian Educat...Australian Educat... | $83.6M | — |
| 30 | GPT Funds Management 2 Pty Ltd ABN: 72115026536 Communication Wor... | $83.0M | — |
Pay to Play?
0 entities that donate to political parties ALSO hold government contracts. They donated a combined $0 and received $0 in government contracts — a return of N/A their political investment.
| # | Entity | Donated | Contracts |
|---|
Correlation does not imply causation. Many donor-contractors are large corporations for whom political engagement and government contracting are normal operations. This table highlights the overlap — interpretation requires context.
Donations Over Time
Total political donations by financial year, from 1998-1999 to 2024-25. Spikes typically align with election cycles and changes to disclosure thresholds.
All Recipients
Full breakdown of all political donation recipients, including parties, associated entities, unions, and other registered organisations. Ranked by total amount received.
| # | Recipient | Total Received |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canberra Labor Club Limited | $1.4B |
| 2 | Australian Labor Party (ALP) | $1.2B |
| 3 | Construction, Forestry, Maritime Employees Union | $1.0B |
| 4 | Liberal Party of Australia | $953.7M |
| 5 | United Australia Party | $670.8M |
| 6 | Labor Holdings Pty Ltd | $620.2M |
| 7 | Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation | $585.1M |
| 8 | United Workers Union | $580.3M |
| 9 | MINERALOGY PTY LTD | $578.4M |
| 10 | Australian Labor Party (N.S.W. Branch) | $541.2M |
| 11 | Liberal Party of Australia, NSW Division | $497.9M |
| 12 | Automotive Food Metals Engineering Printing & Kindred Ind. Union | $484.6M |
| 13 | Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland) | $464.6M |
| 14 | Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) | $459.9M |
| 15 | Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees' Association - National | $363.3M |
| 16 | Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) | $348.6M |
| 17 | John Curtin House Limited | $341.6M |
| 18 | Australian Council of Trade Unions | $322.1M |
| 19 | Liberal National Party of Queensland | $320.5M |
| 20 | Community and Public Sector Union (PSU Group) | $294.6M |
Methodology
Data source: Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) annual financial disclosure returns. Political parties, associated entities, donors, and third-party campaigners are required to lodge returns disclosing financial details above the applicable disclosure threshold. Current threshold is $16,900 (indexed annually).
Coverage: 312,933 records from financial year 1998-1999 to 2024-25, covering 35,141 unique donor names. 7,410 donors have an Australian Business Number (ABN) on file, enabling cross-referencing against AusTender government contract data.
Cross-referencing: Donor-contractor identification uses the CivicGraph entity resolution system. Entities are matched across the political donations and AusTender datasets using ABN as the primary key. The “Pay to Play” section uses the pre-computed mv_revolving_door materialized view which scores entities across multiple influence vectors.
What counts as a “donation”: AEC disclosure data includes donations (gifts), other receipts, debts, and some operational transfers between party branches and associated entities (e.g., union affiliation fees). This means totals include intra-party flows that may inflate headline numbers. The “donation_to” field reflects the receiving entity as recorded in the AEC return.
Caveats: Below-threshold donations are not disclosed. Donations can be split across multiple entities to stay under thresholds. Associated entity flows (unions, clubs, holding companies) may be counted separately from their parent party. Some large “donations” are in fact public election funding disbursements from the AEC itself. The ratio of contracts-to-donations should not be interpreted as a direct return on investment — correlation does not establish causation.
Limitations: State/territory donation data is not yet included (federal AEC only). Real-time donations are not available — AEC returns are lodged annually with significant delay. Some entities operate under multiple ABNs or entity names, which may cause undercounting of aggregated totals.
Dig Deeper
Explore the donor-contractor network on the interactive graph, or see the full cross-system power analysis with all 7 datasets.
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