Political donations. Money doesn’t buy you happiness!

Political donations data from AEC returns show that the huge increase in political party funding did not translate into seats won in last year’s elections. Stephanie Tran reports.

Nine months after Australians went to the polls, voters can finally see who is funding the 2025 federal election and how much of that money is coming from undisclosed sources.

Newly released disclosures from the Australian Electoral Commission show major political parties reported donations of $417.2 million. ‘other receipts’* 58.2% increase from $263.7 million in fiscal year 2024-25 reported After the 2022 elections.

Labor, which gained 17 more seats in the House of Representatives, increased its intake by 30 per cent ($37.3 million), while the Liberals and Nationals lost 15 seats and gained an additional 87 per cent ($102 million).

Green donors will also be unhappy with their return on investment, as the additional $13.7 million in funding would result in the loss of 75% of lower house seats.

‘Dark money’ spreads despite ‘reform’

A significant portion of the money received by political parties during the 2025 election period cannot be traced to an identifiable source.

The analysis shows that $129.6 million (31%) of all funds received by major parties came from undisclosed sources, often referred to as “dark money”.

Although the dollar figure was at a record high, the proportion of secret financing was even greater in 2022. Analysis by Our Democracy It found that nearly 40% of major party revenues came from undisclosed sources.

The figures again highlight how Australia’s high disclosure thresholds (currently $16,900) and reporting delays are leaving voters in the dark until elections are decided.

Top donors

There were a few surprises high up on the donor list.

Clive Palmer was again the biggest donor. Palmer made $53.2 million in political donations through his mining company, Mineralogy Pty Ltd. Mineralogy was registered as a significant third party and reported total revenues of $289.4 million.

The second largest individual donor was Pamela Wall, who donated $5.26 million to the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party. Wall, a well-known philanthropist, became a billionaire in 2025 following a rise in the share price of technology company Codan Ltd (ASX:CDA), of which he is a major shareholder.

Packaging billionaire Anthony Pratt donated $2 million to Labor and $1 million to the Liberals through Pratt Holdings. During the 2022 elections, he split $3.7 million equally, this time backing the winning horse.

Other major donors included:

• Kerry Stokes donates $500,000 each to Labor and Liberal organizations through his company Australian Capital Equity
• Lindsey Fox also donated $500,000 to both major parties through Fox Group Holdings
• Estate of late Labor Senator Linda White donates $1 million to Labor
• Duncan Turpie donated $1.05 million to the Greens, becoming the party’s biggest individual donor

Henroth Investments

John Henroth, husband of Antisemitism Ambassador Jillian Segal, donated $280,000 to the Liberal Party and $20,990 to the Labor Party. Last time he was under fire This year for donating $50,000 to right-wing lobby group Advance Australia Call for Segal to resign.

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Forward Australia

Advance Australia reported revenue of $13.5 million but disclosed the source of only $5.2 million, leaving approximately $8.3 million in dirty money. The organization spent $10.1 million during the election.

Hancock Prospecting, owned by Gina Rinehart, donated $895,000 to Advance Australia and $204,000 to the Liberal Party. James Packer donated $150,000 to Advance through his personal investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings.

Mining and fossil fuel lobby

Coal Australia Limited, which represents major coal companies, donated $5.15 million to fossil fuel lobby groups, including coal industry-funded Australians for Prosperity, which campaigned against progressive candidates during the election.

The Minerals Council of Australia announced a $1 million donation, the majority of which went to the Liberal Party.

Climate 200

Teal fundraiser Climate 200 donated $2.7 million to independent candidates.

Major Climate 200 donors include:

• Robert Keldoulis (Keldoulis Investments) – $1.58 million
• Scott Farquhar-$1.5 million
• James Taylor (William Taylor Nominees) – $1.3 million
• Mike Cannon-Brookes – $1.3 million
• Paul Bennett – $1.1 million
• Marcus Castaras-$1 million
• Fairground Investments (formerly Barlow Impact Group) – $1 million
• Norman Pater (via New Regime Pty Ltd) – $1 million

* Other receipts It is a broad category that includes membership fees to Labor and Liberal business forums, ticket sales to fundraising events, investment income and public funding from the AEC.

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Stephanie is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. He worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where he assisted Crikey’s defense team in the high-profile libel case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. His reporting has been recognized nationally, earning him the 2021 Guardians of Democracy Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.