In summary, this submission on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017 (Cth) (‘the Bill’) states:
- TI Australia is unable to support the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill 2017 – (The Bill).
- The Bill imposes new, onerous and costly requirements on charities and Not‐for‐Profits’ reporting requirements as part of the introduction of the ‘Third Party Campaigner’ and ‘Political Campaigner’ categories.
- The Bill will impose a partial prohibition on receiving international funding through restrictive ‘allowable donor’ clauses.
- The Bill proposes regulatory measures that are fundamentally inconsistent with charity law.
- Any new regulation needs to promote coherence with existing charities law.
- The Bill promotes legal confusion over the rights and proper procedures for charitable advocacy leading to self‐censoring and causing a ‘chilling effect’ on charitable advocacy.
- The Bill undermines the legitimacy of charities engaging in advocacy and stifles the legitimate voice of charities.
TI Australia endorses the submission by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) of which TI Australia is an affiliate member.