New Zealand political parties received $468,160 through anonymous donations in the first half of the 2026 election year. That already beats the total for the entire 2023 election cycle. RNZ

The Electoral Commission publishes these figures every three months. To 30 June 2026, National received $316,160 of the total. The Opportunities Party received $70,000, NZ First received $57,000, and ACT received $25,000. RNZ

National's $316,160 made up roughly 20 percent of the party's declared income from donations over $20,000 and protected donations combined as at the end of June. National has received more than twice as much through this channel as every other party combined since the scheme began.

The scheme, introduced in 2009, lets a donor give more than $1,500 to a political party without their name being released. Under other donation methods, anyone who gives more than $6,000 must be publicly named in annual returns. A donor who wishes to stay hidden from both the party and the public can give at most $1,500 unless they use the protected channel. Electoral Commission

For the 2026 election cycle, an individual donor can give up to $61,425 per party through the protected scheme without public scrutiny. The total a party may receive from protected donations across the cycle is capped at $405,900. National's $316,160 puts it within roughly $89,740 of that ceiling, with six months of the year still to run. RNZ

Since the scheme started, five parties have used it. Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori have never received any donations through it. RNZ

The Independent Electoral Review's final report, completed in November 2023, called for the scheme to be scrapped. The panel included Professor Andrew Geddis of the University of Otago law faculty. The recommendation has not been acted on. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said abolishing the scheme is not a priority for the current government, and was not a priority for the previous Labour Government either. RNZ

The broader context here is that the protected scheme sits in an unusual spot in New Zealand's donation rules. The Electoral Act sets a $6,000 threshold for public disclosure of named donors and a $1,500 ceiling for anonymous donations made outside the protected channel. Parties must report donations and contributions over $6,000, anonymous donations over $1,500, and overseas donations in their annual returns. Overseas donations above $50 must be returned. The protected scheme runs alongside these rules as a separate channel, allowing sums far above either threshold to move without the donor's identity being disclosed to the party, the public, or the Electoral Commission. Electoral Commission

What the 2026 figures show is that the protected scheme has become a meaningful funding stream for centre-right parties in particular, while parties on the left have consistently opted out of it entirely. National alone accounts for roughly 68 percent of all protected donations in the first half of 2026. The party's use of the channel has grown sharply enough to approach the $405,900 cycle cap well before the election itself, though quarterly reporting means the public only sees the picture after the fact.

The Electoral Review's recommendation to abolish the scheme was bipartisan in the sense that its panel was independent, but the political response has been notably consistent across both the Labour and National-led governments: neither has moved to act on it. Goldsmith's framing, that it "is not a priority" for the current government and was not for the previous one either, effectively shelves the recommendation without rejecting it outright.

For parties contesting the 2026 General Election, the protected channel remains available through the cycle. With National already close to the per-party cap and three other parties using the scheme, the total could climb well beyond the mid-year figure before year-end returns are filed. Those annual returns, covering the year ending 31 December 2026, would be due in April 2027. Electoral Commission