The Labor Party

In 10 years, Labor has taken over $106 million from corporations.

This money has come from some of our most powerful businesses, like coal seam gas giant, Santos and Crown Casino, and most influential industries, like property development, professional lobbyists and coal and gas companies. These companies donate for a reason: favourable policy decisions. While the major parties continue to take money from big corporate interests, they will never be completely focused on what is good for Australian communities.

Fossil Fuel Industry

in FY2023
Labor:$ 790,705

Developers and Property Industry

in FY2023
Labor:$ 729,438

Banking and Finance Industry

in FY2023
Labor:$ 1,631,510

Pharmaceutical Corporations

in FY2023
Labor:$ 901,420

Gambling - Tobacco - Alcohol

in FY2023
Labor:$ 845,521

Defence Industry

in FY2023
Labor:$ 230,850

These are the industries seeking to influence the policy decisions of the Labor party:

html_name_icon Value value_M
Banking and Finance Industry 93,089,327 93.1
Developers and Property Industry 35,783,966 35.8
Energy and Resource Companies 25,936,604 25.9
Consultancies and Law Firms 22,408,688 22.4
Gambling - Tobacco - Alcohol 20,531,601 20.5
Pharma & Private Health Industry 20,361,168 20.4
Manufacturing and Heavy Industry 16,511,641 16.5

html_name_icon Value value_M
Services & Retail Sector 15,479,016 15.5
Media and Communications 14,577,239 14.6
Food and Agriculture 9,890,086 9.9
Lobbying Firms 8,627,423 8.6
Education 2,263,828 2.3
Defence & Weapons Industry 2,160,658 2.2
Uncategorised Company 1,833,722 1.8

Cumulative totals to Labor between FY2012-13 – FY2022-23 (all ALP state and federal)

And then there’s the dark money…

As much as 55% of donations to political parties are not disclosed. In FY22, the source of around $119 million remains hidden.

Without reforms to require disclosure of this ‘dark money’, we don’t know who’s paying the big parties’ bills.

Loopholes in our donations laws allow the major parties to claim money received as “other receipts”, because it isn’t a ‘gift’, it is a contractual exchange such as a $10,000 a head ‘business lunch’ with lobbyists and industry.

Major parties employ sneaky tactics to hide the source of donations – like using a political front group (like Labor’s ‘1973 Foundation’) to host fundraising events. The corporate donor pays the front group and the front group then pays the political party to “wash the donations” and hide the influential donor.

Our lax donation laws allow donors to split donations between state and federal entities below the $14,500 donation cap.

That means over $100,000 can be donated each year without disclosure. If it’s below the disclosure limit, then the AEC has no legal power to investigate it.

Labor’s last decade of corporate donations

Cumulative totals to Coalition FY2013-FY2023 (Labor Parties, state and federal as reported to AEC). Explore and filter the raw AEC data ›
Banking and Finance category can include interest earned from investments and term deposits