Dark money and opaque politics: making sense of contributions to Australian political parties

The source, size and recipients of political contributions, and their influence on policy-making, has long been of interest to political scientists, journalists and citizens. There is ever present discussion of ‘dark money’ and ‘pay for play’ politics. However, these discussions are often limited by the inconsistent and sometimes incorrect coding of the Australian Electoral Commission financial disclosure data. These data make it difficult to understand who is financing Australian politics, how patterns of giving differ across donors, parties and time, and how this relates to policy outcomes. This creates a risk that the commentary shaping public understanding of the integrity of political institutions will be flawed. This paper, and the underlying data we present, addresses this gap, providing a firmer foundation for understanding its democratic institutions, helping drive a more informed discussion on the role of money in politics.