Submission on the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill

In previous submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM), AAMRI had expressed its concern on the potential impact that the Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017 could have had on the medical research sector. In particular AAMRI was concerned that the Bill could see MRIs needing to register as political campaigners because of loose definitions in the Bill that would have deemed many health promotion activities as political campaigning activities. Following submissions from AAMRI and across the broader charitable sector amendments to the Bill have been proposed and put out for consultation. In this submission AAMRI welcomes the proposed amendments, particularly the improved definitions in the Bill.