Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Bill No. 31 of 2026)

This legislative submission by the Centre for Democracy & Dialogue (CDD) examines the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Bill No. 31 of 2026). CDD supports the introduction of campaign expenditure limits and the move towards more proportionate penalties, but raises serious concerns about proposals to remove contribution limits, permit unrestricted donations from foreign individuals, dismantle personal financial disclosure requirements and exempt declared community gifts from the bribery offence. The submission also addresses commencement and electoral certainty, offence classification, candidate and party disclosure, compulsory information powers, judicial control of deregistration, protection of the electoral mandate following deregistration, donor eligibility, searchable public disclosure and public funding reforms.