New Zealand political parties received $468,160 through protected-from-disclosure donations in the first half of the 2026 election year — already more than the total that moved through the same channel across the entire 2023 election cycle. RNZ

The Electoral Commission publishes quarterly reports on these donations. Figures to 30 June 2026 show National received $316,160 of the total. 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 the protected channel as every other party combined since the scheme began.

The protected-from-disclosure scheme, introduced in 2009, lets a donor give more than $1,500 to a political party anonymously. Under other donation methods, donors who give more than $6,000 must be publicly named in annual returns. A donor who wishes to remain hidden from both the party and the public can give at most $1,500 unless they use the protected channel. Electoral Commission

Under the rules 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's introduction, five parties have benefited from it. Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori have never received any protected-from-disclosure donations. RNZ

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

The broader context here is that the protected scheme occupies an unusual place in New Zealand's donation regime. 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 sits alongside these rules as a parallel channel, allowing sums far in excess of 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 the degree to which 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 scaled sharply enough to approach the $405,900 cycle cap well before the election itself, though quarterly reporting means the public only sees the picture in arrears.

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 within striking distance of the per-party cap and three other parties actively 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