Some countries require pressure groups and other bodies to report their political spending.
Australia
Apart from parties and candidates, 'third parties' ('that is, persons or organizations other than registered political parties, candidates and Senate groups who participate in election campaigns') are also required to file disclosure reports with the Australian Electoral Commission. These obligations include broadcasters and publishers.
Broadcasters are required within eight weeks of the poll to submit returns to the Commission, giving details of electoral advertisements broadcast during the campaign. Broadcast time for which there has been a charge at less than the commercial rate is regarded as a gift, and must be reported as such.
Publishers are required to file returns with details of electoral advertisements costing in total more than AUS $1,000.82
Britain
Trade unions and companies must disclose their political donations, whether for election campaigns, or other purposes.
Trade unions are not permitted to make any political donations unless they have first held a ballot of members to decide whether to establish a special 'political fund'. If such a fund is formed, its income and expenditure must be reported each year to the Certification Office for Trade Unions and Employers' Associations. The statistics are then published in summary in the Annual Report of the Certification Officer. The detailed returns are available for inspection by members of the public at the Certification Office in London.
If a company makes payments exceeding £200 a year for any of a variety of political objectives (including donations to parties and to candidates), these must be declared in the directors' annual report. These reports are available for inspection by members of the public, but information about political donations is not collected or published on a comprehensive basis.
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