Electoral Act 1993

Election expenses, donations, and annual financial statements - Disclosure of parties' donations

210A: Auditor's report on annual return of party donations

You could also call this:

"A report from an auditor that checks if a political party's donation records are correct and honest."

If you are a party secretary, you must get a report from an auditor about the donations your party received. The auditor is appointed under section 206J. You need to file an annual return of party donations under section 210 if your party got more than $50,000 in donations.

The auditor checks if the return is correct and if you kept proper records of donations. The auditor can look at all your party's records and accounts related to donations. They can also ask you for more information to help them prepare the report.

The auditor writes a report saying if they think the return is correct or not. They also say if you did not give them all the information they needed or if you did not keep proper records.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM310311.

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

210: Annual return of party donations, or

"Parties must tell the Electoral Commission about their big donations each year"

210B: Nil return, or

"Telling us you have no information to share"

Part 6AElection expenses, donations, and annual financial statements
Disclosure of parties' donations

210AAuditor's report on annual return of party donations

This section applies if—
an annual return of party donations required to be filed under section 210 shows that the total amount of donations received by the party secretary for the year exceeds $50,000; or
an annual return of party donations required to be filed under section 210 shows that the total amount of donations received by the party secretary for the year does not exceed $50,000, but the annual return of party loans filed by the party secretary under section 214C for the same year discloses that the party—
1. has entered into at least 1 loan during that year; or
2. has an unpaid balance exceeding $15,000 on a loan entered into during any previous year.

A party secretary must obtain from the auditor appointed under section 206J a report on the return of party donations.
The auditor must state in the report whether, in the auditor's opinion, the return fairly reflects the party donations received by the party secretary.
The auditor must make any examinations that the auditor considers necessary.
The auditor must specify in the report any case in which—
the return does not, in the auditor's opinion, fairly reflect the party donations received by the party secretary:
the auditor has not received from the party secretary all the information that the auditor requires to carry out his or her duties:
proper records of party donations have not, in the auditor's opinion, been kept by the party secretary.

The auditor—
must have access at all reasonable times to all records, documents, and accounts that relate to the party donations and that are held by the party or the party secretary; and
may require the party secretary to provide any information and explanations that, in the auditor's opinion, may be necessary to enable the auditor to prepare the report.

Compare

2007 No 111 s 52

Notes

Section 210A: substituted, on 1 March 2009, by section 6 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 1).
Section 210A(1): replaced, on 1 January 2023, by section 7 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 80).
Section 210A(1A): inserted, on 1 January 2023, by section 7 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 80).