GetUp had been found to be linked to Labor and the Greens

GetUp was found “prima facie” to be an associated entity of Labor or the Greens by the Electoral Commission.

A logo for the GetUp! group

GetUp was found “prima facie” to be an associated entity of Labor or the Greens by the Australian Electoral­ Commission, in a detaile­d investigation of the activ­ist group’s campaigning activity during the 2016 federal election.

But the preliminary finding, which would have undermined GetUp’s claim to be independent and imposed tougher financial disclosur­e, was later reversed after the AEC sought further submissions from GetUp and secured legal advice.

The AEC’s initial position, confirmed during a Senate estimates hearing, is the closest GetUp has come to being recognised under Australian electoral law as controlled by, or operating “wholly or to a significant extent for the benefit” of, a registered political party.

The investigation, started in November 2016, just four months after the election, was the third for the left-leaning campaign group since 2005 and most rigorous.

GetUp has resisted all three attempt­s to have the AEC offic­ially change its status, claiming to be fiercely independent.

The group was referred to the AEC after the 2016 election by West Australian Liberal MP Ben Morton, who claimed GetUp ran a health and hospitals campaign almos­t identical to Labor’s and did not reflect its supporters’ usual prioritie­s of climate change and asylum-seeker issues.

The AEC’s chief legal officer, Paul Pirani, confirmed to a Senate estimates committee hearing on Tuesday night that the initial Get­Up conclusion was based on examining the campaign material it used in 2016, and on information the AEC received in its investigation.

“We felt that there was some prima facie material that pointed to GetUp possibly having a reporting obligation for the 2016-17 finan­cial year,” Mr Pirani said.

GetUp claimed a victory over “far-right politicians” in February when the AEC’s final report found no association with Labor or the Greens. In a “breaking news” statement issued at the time, GetUp’s leadership told supporters the AEC had declared GetUp “independent”, and hailed it as a “landmark decision”.

Asked during the estimates hearing by Victorian Liberal senat­or Jane Hume to explain the AEC’s process, Mr Pirani said GetUp was told of the AEC’s “prima facie” view and then asked to respond in the interests of natural justice.

The AEC formed its final ­finding based on extra material supplied by GetUp, and advice from the Solicitor-General and Director of Public Prosecutions.

At an earlier estimates hearing this month, AEC commissioner Tom Rogers told Tasmanian Liberal­ senator Eric Abetz — the driving force behind the first two unsuccessful AEC investigations into GetUp — the preliminary view was that GetUp “may have had a duty to report as an associated ­entity”. Quizzed further by Senator Abetz about whether the AEC’s February report had found GetUp to be independent, Mr Rogers said: “The AEC has no power to declare anyone independent or otherwise.”

The Australian asked GetUp’s national director, Paul Oosting, today to detail the extra evidence provided to the AEC after its preliminary finding that appears to have helped change the AEC’s mind. Mr Oosting was also asked if GetUp now accepted the AEC did not rule on its independ­ence.

Mr Oosting did not respond to the questions, but a spokesman said the AEC’s decision “unquestionably affirms our political independence”, and it was the third time “the umpire has deemed GetUp wholly independent”.