Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The agent or financial controller of each registered political party, each State branch of each registered political party and each significant third party must, subject to this Division, provide the Electoral Commission a return within 16 weeks after the end of a financial year that:
(a) complies with subsection (2); and
Civil penalty:
(a) 120 penalty units;
(b) if an amount is not disclosed under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) and there is sufficient evidence for the court to determine the amount, or an estimate of the amount, not disclosed--3 times that amount.
(i) the total amount received by, or on behalf of, the registered political party or significant third party during the financial year, together with the details required by section 314AC;
(ii) the total amount paid by, or on behalf of, the registered political party or significant third party during the financial year;
(iii) the total outstanding amount, as at the end of the financial year, of all debts incurred by, or on behalf of, the registered political party or significant third party, together with the details required by section 314AE;
(iv) for significant third parties--the total amount of electoral expenditure incurred by or with the authority of the significant third party; and
(b) include details of any discretionary benefits (however described) received by, or on behalf of, the registered political party, branch or significant third party from the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory during the financial year; and
(3) The financial controller of a significant third party that is taken to have incurred an amount of electoral expenditure in a financial year (the later financial year ) under section 287J must provide:
(a) a return for the financial year in which the expenditure was actually incurred that includes that expenditure; and
(b) a separate return for the later financial year that does not include the expenditure that was taken under section 287J to have been incurred in that later financial year.
(a) a person or entity is registered as a significant third party for a financial year (the current financial year ); and
(b) the person or entity was not required to be registered as a significant third party for the previous financial year;
the financial controller of the significant third party must provide a return, that complies with subsection (2) and is in an approved form, for the previous financial year by the end of the period of 30 days after the person or entity is registered as a significant third party for the current financial year.
Civil penalty:
(a) 120 penalty units;
(b) if an amount is not disclosed under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) and there is sufficient evidence for the court to determine the amount, or an estimate of the amount, not disclosed--3 times that amount.
(3B) If, in complying with subsection (2), a return that is required to be provided under subsection (3A) would include no amounts or details, the return provided must include a statement to the effect that there are no amounts or details to be included.
(3C) Despite anything in this section, a return provided under this section in respect of a significant third party who is an individual is not required to include the following:
(a) any amounts, or the details of any discretionary benefits, received by, or on behalf of, the significant third party in a purely personal capacity;
(b) any amounts paid by, or on behalf of, the significant third party for personal purposes and not solely or substantially for a purpose related to an election;
(c) the amount, or other details, of any debt incurred by, or on behalf of, the significant third party in a purely personal capacity.
(4) Subsection 93(2) of the Regulatory Powers Act does
not apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (1) or (3A) of
this section.