Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person contravenes this subsection if:
(a) the person is:
(ia) a member of the House of Representatives (the gift recipient ) or a Senator (the gift recipient ); or
(i) an agent of a political entity (the gift recipient ); or
(ii) a financial controller of a significant third party or an associated entity (the gift recipient ); and
(b) a gift is made to, or for the benefit of, the gift recipient during a financial year; and
(c) the gift is made by, or on behalf of, a person (the donor ); and
(d) the donor is a foreign donor; and
(e) at the time the gift is made, the amount or value of the gift is at least $1,000; and
(f) acceptable action has not been taken in relation to the gift before the end of the acceptable action period in relation to the gift.
Note 2: The amount or value of the gift might be a debt due to the Commonwealth under section 302Q.
Note 3: The physical elements of an offence against subsection (2) are set out in this subsection (see section 302R).
Exception--obtaining information about foreign donor status
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a gift made by a person (the donor ) if:
(a) before the end of the acceptable action period in relation to the gift, the donor affirmed in writing to the member of the House of Representatives, Senator, agent or financial controller, or to the political entity, significant third party or associated entity, that the donor was not a foreign donor; and
(b) for a gift whose amount or value was, at the time the gift was made, at least equal to the disclosure threshold--before the end of the acceptable action period in relation to the gift:
(i) the member of the House of Representatives, Senator, agent or financial controller obtained appropriate donor information in accordance with section 302P establishing that the donor was not a foreign donor; or
(ii) the member of the House of Representatives, Senator, agent or financial controller took reasonable steps to verify that the donor was not a foreign donor; and
(c) in any case--the member of the House of Representatives, Senator, agent or financial controller did not, at any time during the acceptable action period in relation to the gift, know, or have reasonable grounds to believe, that the donor was a foreign donor.
Note 1: A person who wishes to rely on this subsection bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).
Note 2: A person who makes a false affirmation or provides false donor information for the purposes of paragraph (a) or subparagraph (b)(i) of this subsection may be liable to a penalty (see section 302G).
Exception--private capacity
(1B) Subsection (1) does not apply if the gift was made in a private capacity to the gift recipient for the gift recipient's personal use.
Note: A person who wishes to rely on this subsection bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).
Exception--donations given on terms inconsistent with incurring electoral expenditure etc.
(1C) Subsection (1) does not apply if using the gift for a federal purpose would be inconsistent with the terms of the gift.
Note: A person who wishes to rely on this subsection bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).
Offence
(2) A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (1).
Civil penalty
(3) A person is liable to a civil penalty if the person contravenes subsection (1).
Civil penalty:
The higher of the following amounts:
(a) 200 penalty units;
(b) if there is sufficient evidence for the court to determine the amount or value, or an estimate of the amount or value, of the gift at the time the gift is made--3 times that amount or value.
Provision not continuing offence or civil penalty
(4) Section 4K of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply in relation to an offence against subsection (2). Subsection 93(2) of the Regulatory Powers Act does not apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (3).
Candidates and groups
(5) Despite subsection 287(9), for the purposes of this section, a person who is a candidate in an election or by - election:
(a) is taken to begin to be a candidate in the election or by - election on the earlier of the following days:
(i) the day that is 6 months before the day the person announced that the person would be a candidate in the election or by - election;
(ii) the day that is 6 months before the day the person nominated as a candidate in the election or by - election; and
(b) is taken to cease to be a candidate in the election or by - election at the end of 30 days after the polling day in the election or by - election.
Note: Under subsection 4(1), a candidate in an election or by - election is a political entity .
(6) Despite subsection 287(9), for the purposes of this section, a group:
(a) is taken to begin to be a group in an election on the day that is 6 months before the day the members of the group make a request under section 168 for their names to be grouped in the ballot papers for the election; and
(b) is taken to cease to be a group in the election at the end of 30 days after the polling day in the election.
Note: Under subsection 4(1), a member of a group is a political entity .