The Country Liberal Party has failed to declare thousands of dollars of political donations more than six months after a disclosure deadline passed, the Northern Territory Electoral Commission has confirmed.
The CLP has previously disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations in previous reporting periods but has provided no public information about the 2021-22 financial year.
Almost all other registered parties filed their returns before the August 29 deadline last year.
The Shooters and Fishers party did not submit its 2021-2022 return as required, but the party did not contest the 2020 NT election or any subsequent by-election.
Failure to disclose donations is a breach of the NT Electoral Act, which can result in maximum fines of up to $150,000 for body corporates.
CLP general secretary Tony Schelling told the ABC the delay in filing was, in part, due to changes in the party's executive team.
Since February 2022, the party has had three different presidents, and he said the organisation also relied on volunteers for other positions.
"Where those responsible for certain jobs are absent for extended periods for whatever their personal reasons, others need to step in once an issue is realised," he said.
Mr Schelling said the party had filed a separate return with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) in November, in which donations totalling almost $1 million were declared.
He said there may have been an assumption that filing disclosures to the AEC would circumvent the need to file them to the NTEC.
"We learned last month that the 2022 annual return, with gifts in kind included, had been missed for last year," he said.
"[We] assumed [the return was] completed when the AEC forms were done.
"They largely reflect the same data."
Mr Schelling said the CLP would provide the NTEC with all legally required documents.
"Any data the NTEC commissioner has requested from CLP that is not in his hands will be with him on Sunday," he said last week.
The NTEC told the ABC it had sent "numerous reminders" to the CLP regarding its filing obligations.
It also said transparency was crucial for the public.
"The NTEC encourages all registered political parties to submit accurate returns in a timely manner," it said.
"This is especially the case with election returns as details of donations should be in the public domain in a timely manner in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act."
In federal elections, the disclosure threshold is $14,500 — much higher than the NT's $1,500 threshold.
In federal elections, donations from individuals or groups of less than $14,500 but more than $1,500 may still need to be disclosed and revealed publicly.
As of 4pm Monday, the CLP still had not filed its returns to the NTEC, despite saying they would be provided over the weekend.
The NTEC said it had once again reminded the party it was awaiting the records.
