The federal regime
How Australian federal donation regulation works, why the rules shift on 1 January 2027, and how Together models the difference.
This page explains the Commonwealth Electoral Act's donation regime, the looming 2027 change, and how Together's data model handles both regimes side by side. Read this before filing your first return.
Two regimes, one platform
The Australian Parliament passed amendments in 2024 that take effect on 1 January 2027. Until then, donations are regulated under the older financial-year regime. From 2027, a stricter calendar-year regime with explicit caps applies. Together stores donations in a single ledger but evaluates them under the regime in force at the time of the donation date.
| Aspect | Pre-2027 regime (FY-based) | Post-2027 regime (CY-based) |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting period | Financial year (1 July - 30 June) | Calendar year (1 January - 31 December) |
| Disclosure threshold | Indexed annually. FY 2025-26 = $17,300. FY 2026-27 = $17,900 (truncated 31 Dec 2026). | $5,000 at commencement, indexed each 1 January following a general election. |
| Per-donor annual cap | None | $50,000 per donor per calendar year |
| Normal reporting deadline | Annual return at end of October following the FY | 21st of the following month |
| Election-period reporting | No distinct regime | 7 days after each donation through the campaign; 24 hours per donation in the week either side of polling day |
The 1 January 2027 boundary is a hard cut: FY 2026-27 is truncated to 31 December 2026 (six months instead of twelve), and the first calendar-year period covers 1 January to 31 December 2027.
Why the change
The shift from financial year to calendar year aligns with the federal election cycle and makes it easier for the AEC to enforce per-donor caps. The $5,000 disclosure threshold (down from the indexed ~$18,000) widens the disclosure net substantially: many donors who never appeared on returns under the old regime will appear under the new one.
The $50,000 cap is the first real ceiling on per-donor influence in federal politics. It applies per donor per calendar year and across all funds the donor gives, regardless of which entity received the money.
How Together maps donations to periods
Every donation has a donation date (when the donor intended to give, not when money settled). Together evaluates each donation against the regime in force on that date:
- Donations dated 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026 are FY 2025-26 donations.
- Donations dated 1 July 2026 - 31 December 2026 are FY 2026-27 donations (truncated period).
- Donations dated 1 January 2027 onwards are CY 2027 donations, subject to the $50,000 cap.
The dashboard, alert thresholds, and disclosure totals all use this mapping. If you back-date a donation across a regime boundary, Together re-evaluates it against the new regime; check the dashboard afterwards.
What "FCA money" means
The Commonwealth Electoral Act distinguishes federal campaign account money (FCA) from money used for non-electoral purposes. The cap and disclosure rules apply to FCA money. Money in your federal campaign account is FCA; money in a state-campaign account or operating account is not.
Together can't guess which donations are FCA from the donation data alone. You tell it through the tracking-code configuration at Settings -> Integrations; see Set up tracking codes. Configuration drives the FCA decision every time Together reads a donation; change the rules and historical donations re-classify automatically.
What "donor" means under the regime
The cap and threshold apply per donor, not per donation. Together resolves donors by aggregating donations under one donor record. Two operations can change a donor's period total:
- A new donation lands. Adds to the aggregate.
- A duplicate merge confirms. Combines two donors' aggregates into one. This can push the merged donor over a threshold even though no new donation arrived; an alert fires.
For sole traders giving personally and through a company, the regime treats the two as separate donors with separate caps. Together respects that distinction by classifying donors as Individual or Organisation on the donor record. Don't auto-merge across donor types unless you're certain compliance treats them as the same legal person.
Returns are evidence, not enforcement
Together prepares the data; the AEC enforces. A donation that classifies as FCA with an aggregate over the threshold is a return-worthy data point, not yet a filed return. Filing happens through the AEC's own return process. Together's disclosure view tells you what to file; the actual filing is your team's responsibility.
If you spot a breach that's already settled (e.g., you didn't have Together earlier and now a historical donor exceeds the post-2027 cap), follow the AEC's voluntary-disclosure process. The historical-breach list at Compliance -> Disclosures surfaces exactly this case.
What to do next
- Turn on Compliance if you haven't yet: Turn on Compliance.
- Set up tracking codes to control which donations count as FCA: Set up tracking codes.
- Walk an alert queue to see the regime in action: Resolve a compliance alert.