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Donation Policy for Phil Scott

Current as at January 2025

1. Purpose

This policy ensures that Phil Scott complies with the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 requirements for donations. The policy aims to maintain transparency, integrity, and legal compliance in all financial contributions.

2. Scope

It covers the following for independent candidates:

  • Foreign donors (see 3 to 7)
  • In-kind donations (see 8 to 11)
  • Tax deductibility of donations (see 12)
  • Agency arrangements (see 13 to 16)
  • Recording obligations (see 17)

Foreign Donors

3. Definitions

Foreign Donor:

  • An individual who is not an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a person on a subclass 444 visa (i.e., from New Zealand)
  • A company that is not incorporated or headquartered in Australia

Disclosure Threshold: Currently $16,900 for FY24/25.

4. Restrictions on Donations

Prohibited Donations:

  • A candidate is prohibited from accepting donations of $100 or more from foreign donors if the intent is for electoral expenditure or creating/communicating electoral matter and they know the donor is a foreign donor.
  • A candidate is also prohibited from accepting donations of more than $1,000 from a foreign donor even if they don’t know the donor is foreign.

Other matters (what needs to be checked and when):

  • A candidate does not need to check foreign donor compliance for donations under $100.
  • For donations between $1,000 and the Disclosure Threshold, written affirmation that the donor is not a foreign donor must be obtained and stored.
  • For donations equal to or exceeding the Disclosure Threshold, the candidate (or candidate’s team) must know that the donor is not a foreign donor and should store or maintain the details.

5. Acceptable Actions for Non-Compliant Donations

5.1 If a prohibited donation is received, it must be returned or an equivalent amount transferred to the Commonwealth within six weeks.

6. Compliance Measures

For all donations

On any donation form and website - the following text must be shown.

“Phil Scott can only accept donations from Australian citizens, permanent residents, and Australian companies. By confirming your Australian address you affirm that you are not a foreign donor.

If you make donations to me which equal $16,900 or more, your donation will be disclosed to the AEC. We can provide further details on your disclosure obligations. Note: Donations to me are not yet tax deductible.”

  • A periodic inspection will be conducted of receipts to identify any donors with overseas addresses or bank accounts. For any such donor, the above checks must be conducted.
  • For any donation received above the Disclosure Threshold, the following steps should be taken:
    • A check is conducted on the donor to ensure the campaign knows the person/company and knows if they are Australian.
    • If there is any uncertainty, evidence must be obtained from the donor (electoral roll address check, passport copy, etc.) and kept on file.

7. Penalties

Non-compliance with the above regulations may result in civil or criminal penalties as outlined in the Electoral Act.

In-Kind Donations

8. What is an In-Kind Donation?

8.1 An in-kind donation is any gift (i.e., a good or a service) provided for no consideration or less than adequate consideration. “Consideration” is the exchange of money or some other kind of benefit.

8.2 The key question to ask is: is this a commercial good or service which I would otherwise pay for?

8.3 Examples can include:

  • An accountant performing all accounting services for the campaign on a free basis.
  • A local billboard agency providing free billboard space.

9. What is Not an In-Kind Donation?

9.1 People are entitled to make small contributions to the campaign, such as putting on drinks for a group of volunteers, buying some pizza, or providing some free ad hoc volunteer services.

10. How to Assess the Value of In-Kind Donations?

  • The "value" of an in-kind donation is the amount that the campaign would normally have been charged but wasn’t (i.e., the regular cost of it).
  • When determining this value, the donor can consider whether they usually offer different prices to different organizations.

Example:

  • A person charges $1,000 for the hire of a hall.
  • The hall hire would normally cost $4,000.
  • If the hall hire would never normally be discounted to $1,000, then the gift will be the $3,000 worth of in-kind donation.
  • If the hall hire could in other scenarios be discounted to $1,000, then there is no gift.

11. Compliance Measures

  • Record in-kind donations so that they can be reported in AEC total donation disclosure.
  • If unsure whether something is an in-kind donation, seek advice.

Tax Deductions

12. Are Donations to Candidates Tax Deductible?

  • Donations to MPs are tax deductible while they are an MP.
  • Donations to non-incumbent independent candidates are only tax deductible after the candidate has been formally declared by the AEC to be a candidate.
  • The maximum amount claimable as a tax deduction is $1,500 per financial year.
  • Only individuals can claim tax deductions; companies cannot.

Campaign Entity – Disclosure and Registration

13. What is a Campaign Entity?

A campaign entity is a company set up to manage campaign finances.

14. Registration under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

The campaign entity must register as an Associated Entity once the candidate is announced.

15. Relationship Between the Candidate and the Campaign Entity

  • The candidate appoints the campaign entity as their agent.
  • The agency agreement confirms that donations received for the candidate’s campaign were disclosable by the candidate and ensures eligibility for AEC funding.

16. Disclosure Responsibilities

  • All donations and expenditures for the candidate’s campaign are disclosed by the candidate following AEC regulations.
  • If the campaign entity does nothing else, it will lodge a nil associated entity return.

Recording of Donations

17. What Needs to Be Recorded?

  • Details of all donations (except for cash amounts under $100 from in-person fundraisers) must be promptly recorded in the campaign’s donation system.
  • Receipts for all expenditures must be stored in the campaign’s system.
  • In-kind donations must also be recorded in accounting software.

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