Claims Zali Steggall’s fundraising arm broke donation transparency laws

Warringah MP Zali Steggall is facing claims her independent fundraising arm may have broken the same donation transparency laws she voted against last year.

Warringah MP Zali Steggall is facing claims her independent fundraising arm may have broken the same donation transparency laws she voted against.

Warringah Independent Limited (WIL) was set up to fund an independent candidate running in the seat against former prime minister Tony Abbott and is Ms Steggall’s campaign vehicle both for fundraising and spending cash on her re-election.

Questions have now been raised over the legality of WIL’s registration with the Australian Electoral Commission.

WIL voluntarily removed itself as a “significant third party” on the AEC register after the 2019 election even though it had contributed $956,024 to Ms Steggall’s campaign and would therefore normally have been required to remain on the registry for three years.

Though WIL did re-register as an “associated entity” in early 2022, it is currently still not listed as a “significant third party” even though it meets the criteria because its 2019 donations surpassed the $500,000 threshold.

Independent Warringah MP Zali Steggall’s independent fundraising arm may have broken donation transparency laws. Picture: AAP Image

Failure to register has a potential penalty of $44,400, and WIL could also be liable for a civil penalty worth three times the amount it has since spent on Ms Steggall’s campaign if it is found that it has breached the laws.

In November 2021 the Coalition government passed laws to lower the threshold requiring third parties to submit annual returns to the AEC to $250,000, which Ms Steggall voted against.

Coalition campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham.

Coalition campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham said it “looks like” Ms Steggall’s campaign vehicle “may have broken the same law she tried to vote down”.

“The fake independents pretend to apply higher standards but (it seems) their dodgy party structure operates in the shadows,” he said.

The AEC confirmed the Electoral Act “requires a person or entity to be registered as a significant third party if: electoral expenditure exceeds $250,000 during that financial year, or any of the previous three financial years”.

It also confirmed the AEC-approved removal of WIL from the transparency register on November 26, 2019.

At the time the AEC had no discretion over applications to deregister a political campaigner who applied for it. That changed in November 10, 2020, when changes to the Act meant the AEC would “only deregister an entity if it was satisfied that the entity no longer meets the requirements for registration”.

WIL belatedly submitted a financial return to the AEC for FY2020-21 as an associated entity, but it was not published at the same time as other entities on 1 February 2022. The AEC advised Senate Estimates in February they had withheld publishing until WIL could ensure the return was accurate, an issue that was not resolved until April.

WIL chair Richard Beck said the body did not need to be registered as a significant third party: “Warringah Independents has at all times worked in close consultation with the AEC.

“Warringah Independents and Zali Steggall have submitted all returns in compliance with the law. With respect to the 2020-21 returns there are no issues outstanding.

“Following consultation with AEC, it was resolved Warringah Independent was not required to be registered as a significant third party.

“With respect to the 2022 Campaign, Warringah Independents is acting as Ms Steggall’s agent and therefore does not need to be registered as a significant third party.

“Any suggestion that Warringah Independents or Ms Steggall has been anything other than fully compliant with the legislation is false and misleading.”