Big political donations have hit $7.4m this election year. Are the rules tight enough?

Getty Images With polling day still a month away, large political donations declared in 2026 have reached about NZ$7.4 million , already surpassing the total for 2023.

Of election-year donations above $20,000 that parties must disclose to the Electoral Commission, the ACT Party leads with $2.35 million from 48 donors, followed closely by National on $2.29 million.

Labour has received $890,301 and New Zealand First $833,000.

Political funding doesn’t necessarily reflect electoral support.

ACT, which won 8.6% of the party vote in 2023, has attracted nearly seven times as much in large donations this year as the Green Party, which won 11.6% last election.

This surge in donations has renewed debate over New Zealand’s political funding rules.

Unlike some comparable countries, New Zealand places no overall cap on how much a person or company can donate to a political party.

The debate also reflects concerns about whether large donations give wealthy individuals and organisations greater access to, or influence over, political decision-makers.

International research has found governments can be more responsive to affluent citizens and organised interests than to people with fewer resources.

New Zealand research has also examined the access and influence sought by major political donors.

Similar concerns were raised by the 2023 Independent Electoral Review , which warned of risks to electoral integrity and public confidence where donations or loans could give some people undue influence over parties and candidates.

The Greens and Opportunity have now proposed a $30,000 cap per donor per election cycle, a ban on company donations and disclosure of donations above $1,000.

Against this backdrop, we examined which groups and industries have funded New Zealand’s political parties – and what options exist to tighten the rules.

Where the donations come from Electoral Commission data analysed by RNZ shows some significant differences in donation sources across political parties this year.