The fossil fuel industry is globally wealthy and powerful. Australia's coal, oil and gas companies donate millions of dollars to the major political parties, and in return they get access and influence that ordinary voters do not have. These massive donations prevent meaningful action on climate change. Parliament passed new donation laws in February 2025, but they do not take effect until 1 January 2027 - and as drafted they still leave big industries with enormous donating power. There is a window right now to strengthen them before they start. Ask your MP to take action.

Background and context

Fossil fuel companies donated at least $3.98 million to the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Nationals in 2024-25, the financial year covering the May 2025 federal election. Labor received more than $1.06 million and the Coalition more than $2.92 million, with a further $1.53 million from pro-fossil-fuel lobby groups including the Minerals Council of Australia, Coal Australia and Australian Energy Producers. The Australian Greens and Climate 200 (a major funder of community independents, not a political party) both did not receive any fossil fuel money. These figures were compiled by Climate Integrity from the AEC's Transparency Register, published 2 February 2026. They are almost certainly an undercount: for that year, any donation below $16,900 could be given without ever being disclosed, and the threshold today is still $17,300.

In early 2025, some improvements were made to limit individual donations, and improve the transparency of Australian electoral donations. Parliament passed the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 2025 in February 2025, with the support of both major parties. From 1 January 2027 it will lower the public disclosure threshold from $17,300 to $5,000, and require donations to be reported far more quickly - within 24 hours during the expedited period before an election.

From the same date, political donations will be capped for the first time. A donor will be able to give up to $50,000 a year to any one party, candidate or campaigner; up to $250,000 a year within a single state or territory; and up to $1.6 million a year nationally. That is a real change from the current position, where there is no limit at all. But the caps are generous, and the way they are structured leaves large industries - including fossil fuels - with substantial donating power.

“Powerful industries like gambling, fossil fuels and the airlines will still have influence as each party or candidate can still receive $50,000 annually or $150,000 per electoral cycle from a donor and up to $200,000 a year from an industry body.” - Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia

The caps apply separately to each state and territory branch of a party. Because the major parties have a branch in every state and territory, a single donor can give them up to $450,000 a year, while an independent candidate is held to $50,000. Spending is capped at $90 million nationally for a party, but $800,000 per electorate for a candidate. In April 2026 the Grattan Institute found the national cap too high and the per-seat cap too low, and recommended both be amended before the next election. Four integrity organisations - the Australia Institute, the Centre for Public Integrity, the Australian Democracy Network and Transparency International Australia - have jointly proposed aggregating donations across party branches, lowering the national spending cap to $60 million and raising the per-seat cap to $1.2 million.

Why is this important?

• Money gets fossil fuel companies access to politicians, which can skew democracy and policy decisions.

• If hefty donations didn’t pay off, fossil fuel companies wouldn’t give money.  There is only one reason for donating, and it’s because it’s beneficial for them to do so.

• Donations from the fossil fuel industry are inherently problematic because the sector’s existence depends on the issuing of government permits. Between 1999 and 2019, resource and energy companies disclosed $136.8 million in payments to Australian politics.

• Voters cannot see most of the money flowing into our politics. For 2024-25, any donation under $16,900 could be given without ever being disclosed, and the threshold today is still $17,300 - so the $3.98 million figure above represents the minimum. Australians are being asked to judge their representatives without knowing who is funding them.

• The changes legislated in February 2025 are a welcome increase in transparency, but they do not start until 1 January 2027 - and as drafted they will not do enough to limit the influence of industries like fossil fuels, or to show voters who is funding our elections. There is still time to fix them before they take effect.

Desired outcomes

• To further improve the donation legislation by aggregating donations across party branches, and lowering the national spending cap to $60 million and raising the per-seat cap to $1.2 million
• To make donations more transparent by further lowering the disclosure threshold
• To stop the influence of fossil fuel companies on climate and environment laws

Who to contact

• Your local Federal MPs (check on this website if you’re unsure who that is)

• Key Federal Labor (addresses in link) including Special Minister of State Don Farrell*, who is responsible for federal electoral law and political donations; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese; Treasurer Jim Chalmers; Resources Minister Madeleine King; and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. (*If you write to Senator Farrell, address him in his role as Special Minister of State so that the email isn't forwarded elsewhere.)

• Federal Senate Crossbenchers (addresses in link) including the Greens, David Pocock (ACT independent), Jacqui Lambie (Jacqui Lambie Network, Tasmania) and Fatima Payman (WA independent).

Since the 2025 election the government has needed the support of either the Greens or the Coalition to pass legislation through the Senate, so the Greens are now the pivotal vote on electoral law — though crossbench pressure still shapes which bills get debated.

Resources

• Email example below and General email template here to write your own from scratch
• Guidelines and tips for writing emails
• Look up donations to your own MP and their party on the AEC's Transparency Register

Actions you can take

1. Email your MP or relevant Ministers

If you need some help getting started with your email, here is an example. 

Please don’t copy it exactly - personalise it and tailor it to the MP you are writing to. 

In addition, when writing to a Minister or Shadow Minister, start by saying that you’re writing to them in their role as Minister for xxxx, otherwise they will probably just forward your email to your local MP.

[MP name]

[Member for …. or  Minister for ….]

Dear …

[include a personal statement - who you are and why you care]

I am writing to ask you and your government to strengthen the laws around federal political donations before they take effect. I am grateful for the reforms passed in February 2025, which will introduce donation caps and better transparency from 1 January 2027. However, I do not believe they go far enough, and there is still time to improve them.

A majority of Australians in every federal seat want greater action on climate change, but millions of dollars in donations from coal and gas companies are preventing our politicians from acting in the public interest.

I would like to see donations from coal and gas companies banned outright. The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Banning Dirty Donations) Bill 2026 would do that.

Will you push for:

• Donations to be aggregated across all state and territory branches of a party, so a single donor cannot give $50,000 to each of nine branches

• Full disclosure of all cash-for-access payments, like fundraising dinners, forum memberships and business observer programs, regardless of amount

• The caps to be reviewed and amended before they commence on 1 January 2027, as the Grattan Institute has recommended

I would also appreciate a direct answer to two questions:

Will you support the Banning Dirty Donations Bill, and if not, what will you do instead to limit fossil fuel donations to your party?

Will you commit to refusing donations from coal and gas companies to your own campaign at the next federal election?

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Name

Address

Phone

(Note: your contact details are required if you want a reply)

"Hi, my name is ..... and I'm a voter in [your electorate].

I'd like to speak to ..... [name of MP].

(The staffer will probably say: I'm sorry, they're not available - can I take a message?)

Yes, thank you! Would you please tell them I'm concerned about the millions of dollars coal and gas companies give to political parties, and that the new donation laws don't start until 2027 and don't go far enough.

And would you ask them whether they'll support aggregating donation caps across party branches before the scheme starts on 1 January 2027?

Thank you!

Land clearing accelerates global warming

Deforestation in Australia contributes to climate change. Our forests and bushland store carbon dioxide that plants have drawn from the atmosphere, and clearing these areas increases greenhouse gas emissions and accelerates warming. Australia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, and is the only ‘developed’ country on the list of global deforestation hotspots. Some 500,000 hectares of our native forests are destroyed each year, with a total of two thirds of our native forests being destroyed since colonisation in the 1700s. Annually, loss of forests contributes about 8% of our total greenhouse gas emissions.