New Zealand’s political donation regulations are among the weakest in the developed world, with thresholds for disclosure far higher than many OECD countries and no limits on donation amounts.
Our comparatively decent transparency of political donations and loans is offset by poor reporting timeliness and accountability.
Larger Donations
The Electoral Commission’s public release of political donations and loans over $20,000, for the period since 1 January 2026, gives us a useful window into who’s funding political parties at that level. From what’s been published so far, parties appear to be meeting the legal requirements, and the Electoral Commission is getting the information out promptly.
Because this is an election year, the rules tighten up. Parties have to report donations over $20,000 within 10 days, and loans over $30,000 on the same timeline.
So far, the online disclosures show that as at 1 May 2026, ACT NZ and NZ First are leading the pack in terms of substantial donations and loans from individuals and organisations this year. Some organisations and donors are spreading their support across parties in the current coalition government. Organisational donations are well known to be a proxy for personal donations, and splitting donations. At the same time, lower levels of large donations are showing up for the Labour Party, the Opportunities Party, and Te Pāti Māori.
This level of transparency does give us one window into who the donors are (including contact details), how much they’ve given, and which party received it. You can also cross-check company donors on the Companies Register to see who the directors are, which adds a bit more context. In one case the director appears in the newspapers for recent convictions for inside trading.
But there’s still a missing piece. We don’t get to see the actual beneficial owners—the people who ultimately own or control those companies. That information isn’t public, and it leaves a gap that matters. Organisational donations can be a proxy for paid influencers including foreign donors. If we’re serious about transparency, and about guarding against hidden or foreign influence, an open beneficial ownership register needs to be part of the picture.
There’s also less transparency when donations are routed through trusts. For example, one $30,000 donation to the National Party has come via a Christchurch-based fundraising trust, listed as an associated entity in the party’s financial return. What we can’t see is how the money got into that trust in the first place. Given past issues with parties using legal loopholes to obscure the source of donations, this is something worth keeping a close eye on.
Donations below the 20k threshold
Donations under the 20K threshold are only reported annually, by 1 April of the following year.
These are reasonably specific, with names of donors contributing over $6,000, a list of anonymous donations over $1,500 and under $6,000, every overseas donation over $50, all payments from the Electoral Commission of donations protected from disclosure, also the number of party donations not exceeding $1,500 and the total amount of these donations. Parties also need to provide a breakdown of total donations between monetary and non-monetary donations (e.g. goods and services).
That all sounds good, yes? But we are still waiting to see publication of these donations for 2025. Donation details for 2026 will not be published until May 2027. Voters have no access to this information to inform their vote!
Donations Protected from Disclosure
The mechanism of ‘Donations protected from Disclosure’ allows a person to donate more than $1,500 to a party anonymously. There are limits on how much any one anonymous donor can make between two elections ($61,425) and how much any party can receive in anonymous donations between two elections ($409,500). The amounts are still quite sizable.
The donor sends the money to the Electoral Commission, which then groups it together with other donations protected from disclosure. The Commission then sends the money to the party at regular intervals without identifying them or any details of the donation.
The Commission releases quarterly reports on donations protected from disclosure. In the quarter to the end of March 2026 only the National Party has received anonymous loans ($242,237). The use of anonymity in any aspect of political donations is open to gaming.
Loans
Loans are another element where public transparency is lacking. Loans must be advised to the Electoral Commission if over $30k, but only once each year and well after the election. The most recently reported loans on the Electoral Commission website are from December 2023.
Third party promoters
You can expect to see advertisements that promote one party or another, and belittle opposition parties, but are not funded by political parties or individual candidates. These are what are called third party promoters. There is some regulation of third party promoters including identification in advertisements, but it is only about limits of spending not about transparency of donations.
Academic Sean Whittaker has noted that third party promoters are playing an increasing role in New Zealand’s political ecosystem. He notes the lack of transparency. “..Unlike political candidates and parties, third party promoters do not have to record or report any donations made to their campaign. Donors can thus use third party promoters to aid a political party without having to make their support public knowledge, undermining the transparency aims of the Electoral Act”.
Another emerging issue is the growth of social media accounts posing as community groups but operating as attack channels and echo chambers. There’s very little transparency about who is funding their channels.
A transparency initiative put in place by the previous Government requires political parties to submit annual financial statements. While the timing is inconsistent these reports provide further insight into amounts received by the party from donations, fundraising and membership.
Why political donation reform is urgently needed
Weak donation laws, high disclosure thresholds, and limited enforcement powers create opportunities for undue influence and erode confidence in political institutions.
Research shows that donors often gain extraordinary access to political leaders, creating an imbalance between ordinary citizens and wealthy contributors.
Little has changed since Max Rashbrooke and Lisa Marriott published a 2022 report highlighted in the Transparency Times, Political Donations - Money for Something. They found that New Zealand’s donation regulations are among the weakest in the developed world, with thresholds far higher than many OECD countries and no limits on donation amounts. Their interviews with donors, fundraisers, and political insiders reveal a system where money increasingly substitutes for broad-based party membership, amplifying the voices of the wealthy.
What can you do?
Transparency only works if people use it. Here are a few simple ways to help strengthen political integrity:
- Ask questions – Raise transparency issues with candidates and parties. Where do they stand on real-time donation disclosure and tighter rules?
- Push for better disclosure – Encourage clearer, more detailed reporting in party manifestos and financial returns.
- Make it an election issue – Signal that political integrity and transparency matter to you as a voter.
- Stay informed – Follow donation disclosures and look beyond the headlines.
- Share the message – Help widen the conversation by sharing articles, posts, and analysis.
- Join Transparency International NZ - so that we can further amplify our civil society calls for transparency, accountability and integrity.
