217DGeneral cap

217D General cap (1) A political donation made to, or for the benefit of, any of the following— (a) a registered political party; (b) a candidate at an election; (c) a group; (d) an elected member; (e) an associated entity; (f) a third party campaigner; (g) a nominated entity of a registered political party— must not exceed the general cap for the election period. (2) Except as provided in this section, it is unlawful for a registered political party, candidate, group, elected member, nominated entity, associated entity or third party campaigner to accept a political donation if— (a) the political donation; or (b) the political donation when aggregated in accordance with section 217E— would exceed the general cap. (3) It is not unlawful for a registered political party, candidate at an election, group, elected member, nominated entity, associated entity or third party campaigner to accept a political donation if— (a) the political donation exceeds the general cap because of the aggregation of political donations in accordance with section 217E; and (b) the registered political party, candidate, group, elected member, nominated entity, associated entity or third party campaigner did not know and could not reasonably have known of the other political donation included in the aggregation; and (c) an amount equal to the amount by which the political donation exceeds the general cap was returned by the recipient of the political donation to the donor or otherwise forfeited to the State. (4) It is not unlawful for a person or entity to accept a political donation that would otherwise be unlawful by virtue of subsection (2) if the political donation, or that part of the political donation, that exceeds the general cap is made for Commonwealth electoral purposes and is not paid into the State campaign account of the person or entity. (5) A contribution by a candidate at an election or an elected member to their own election campaign is not included in the general cap in respect of that candidate or member. (6) A political donation to— (a) a candidate who has been selected by a political party to be a candidate in an election; or (b) an elected member who is an endorsed candidate of a registered political party; or (c) a group that is endorsed by a registered political party; or (d) a nominated entity of a registered political party— must also be included as a donation to the registered political party for the purposes of the general cap. (7) A political donation to a candidate at an election or an elected member who is a member of a group must also be included as a donation to the group for the purposes of the general cap. (8) For the avoidance of doubt, a gift that is accepted by an associated entity or a third party campaigner for a purpose that does not involve political expenditure is not included in the general cap. (9) Subject to subsection (10), for the purposes of this section, a small contribution made to, or for the benefit of, the registered political party, candidate at an election, group, elected member, nominated entity, associated entity or third party campaigner is to be disregarded in determining whether the general cap specified in subsection (1) has been exceeded in the election period. (10) Subsection (9) does not apply if a small contribution is made to, or for the benefit of the registered political party, candidate at an election, group, elected member, nominated entity, associated entity or third party campaigner in contravention of section 218B. S. 217E inserted by No. 30/2018 s. 58.