Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Inquiry into Amendments to the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017

This short letter to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters responds to its inquiry into amendments to the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017. Research Australia recalls that its January 2017 submission on the original Bill warned of a disproportionate and unintended impact on the not-for-profit sector, including health and medical research organisations. It notes that the sector regularly responds to government reviews and parliamentary inquiries about funding programs such as those of the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council and Medical Research Future Fund. It welcomes the amendments, which exclude such activity from the new definitions of electoral matter and electoral expenditure and distinguish political campaigning from non-partisan policy advocacy, resolving its earlier concerns.