Political Donations Act 2000 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Donations to Candidates
15. Return of donations
Feedback & supportWhere a donation is received by a candidate or the candidate’s election agent and it is not immediately decided that the candidate or election agent should (for whatever reason) refuse the donation, all reasonable steps must be taken without delay by the candidate or election agent to verify or, so far as the following is not apparent, ascertain —
donation
“donation”, in relation to a candidate at an election or at a presidential election, means —(a)any gift of money or other property to the candidate or his or her election agent;(b)any money spent (otherwise than by the candidate as permitted by any other written law) in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the candidate or by his or her election agent or any person authorised by his or her election agent;(c)any money lent to the candidate or his or her election agent otherwise than on commercial terms;(d)the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person) to the candidate or his or her election agent; or(e)the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the candidate,that is given, spent, lent or provided (whether before or after he or she becomes a candidate) for the purposes of the candidate’s election.(2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
the donor’s identity;
whether the donor is a permissible donor; and
if the donor is a permissible donor, all the details in respect of the donor that are required by the Schedule to be given in respect of a donor of a recordable donation.
Despite section 6, if a candidate or the candidate’s election agent receives a donation that he or she is prohibited from accepting by virtue of section 14, or that the candidate or the candidate’s election agent has decided he or she should for any reason refuse, then —
candidate
“candidate” means a person who is nominated as a candidate at an election or at a presidential election, and includes any person (whether or not a member of any political association) who, on or after the date of the issue of a writ for the election or presidential election (as the case may be) is declared, by the person or others, as seeking nomination as a candidate at that election or (as the case may be) presidential election;
in the case of any anonymous donation, the requirements of section 16(1) must be complied with in respect of the whole donation; or
in any other case, the donation must be sent back, or a payment of an equivalent amount must be sent, to the person who made the donation or any other person appearing to be acting on the firstmentioned person’s behalf,within a period of 30 days beginning with the date when the donation is so received by the candidate or the candidate’s election agent, as the case may be.
For the purposes of this Act, a donation received by a candidate or the candidate’s election agent is taken to have been accepted by the candidate or his or her election agent unless —
election agent
“election agent”, in relation to a candidate, means the person named as the candidate’s election agent under section 62(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954 or section 43(1) of the Presidential Elections Act 1991;
the steps mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b), whichever is applicable, have been taken within the time limited by that subsection; and
a record can be produced of the receipt of the donation and —
of the required steps being taken in relation to the donation as mentioned in subsection (2)(a); or
of the return of the donation, or the equivalent amount, as mentioned in subsection (2)(b).