Donations on behalf of others and from unidentified sources

Donations on behalf of others

If you are given a donation on behalf of someone else, the person giving you the donation (the agent) must tell you: 

  • that the donation is on behalf of someone else; and 
  • the actual donor’s details

An example of someone acting as an agent is where an event organiser is handing over the proceeds from a dinner held specifically to raise funds for your party. 

If you think that someone might be acting as an agent, you must find out the facts so that you can make the right checks. If you are not sure who you should treat as the donor, please contact us for advice.

Local party fighting funds 

During elections, your party may run local fighting funds for candidates. If the fund is managed and controlled by the party and not the candidate, donations to the fund are usually treated as donations to the party, unless a donation is specifically made towards the candidate’s election campaign.

For example, a party branch collects donations to raise funds for election campaigning in the local area. If the local party makes it clear that these donations are made for the purpose of meeting the candidate’s election expenses, or a donor specifies their donation is being made for this purpose, then this is a candidate donation.

If instead a donation is not specifically made to meet candidate expenses in this scenario, it should be treated as a donation to the party.

Donations from unidentified sources

If you are unable to confirm who a donation is from, or that it is from a permissible source, you should record it and return it.

If any interest has been gained on the donation your party can keep it, as it is not treated as a donation.

Please see What do you do if you receive a donation from an impermissible or unidentifiable source? for guidance on how to return a donation.

Last updated: 21 November 2023