Receiving gifts and loans

It’s important that you and your group’s agent understand what a gift or loan is so that your group can meet its disclosure obligations under the Local Government Electoral Act 2011.

A gift is a transfer of money, property, or a service given without receiving something of equal or adequate value in return. A non-monetary gift (or gifts-in-kind) is a gift of any goods or services other than money.

A gift includes:

money given to a group of candidates
services provided at no or below cost
electoral expenditure gifted to a group of candidates
uncharged interest or an amount forgiven on a loan
part of a fundraising contribution that exceeds $200.

A gift does not include:

a property transferred under a will
a fundraising contribution of $200 or less
membership fees paid to a registered political party
money transferred from a candidate’s own personal funds to their group’s dedicated campaign bank account
volunteer labour or incidental use of a volunteer’s vehicle or equipment.

A loan is any of the following provided by a person or entity, other than a financial institution or by use of a credit card:

an advance of money
provision of credit or another form of financial accommodation
payment of an amount for, on behalf of, or at the request of, an entity, if there is an express or implied obligation to repay the amount
another transaction that is in effect a loan of money.

Note: this is not a comprehensive list of all types of gifts and loans. You should read Fact sheet 10 – Definition of gifts and loans for more detailed information.

A group of candidates has obligations to disclose gifts (including donations) and loans received. For more information about your group’s disclosure obligations, please click on the Real-time disclosure requirements tab above.

Prohibited donors

Queensland law bans political donations from property developers and industry bodies with property developers as a majority of their members.

It's illegal for a group of candidates to accept these prohibited donations.

For more information, see ECQ’s prohibited donor scheme page.

Anonymous gifts

It is unlawful for a group of candidates to receive anonymous gifts or loans totalling $500 or more. This includes gifts or loans where the name, address, or other required details of the donor are not known to the group.

Video overviews

What counts as a gift?

Links to further information: