The Impact of Political Finance Regulation on Party Organisation

Political finance regulations require political parties to engage with a complex and multi-faceted regulatory environment. This article develops a framework to understand how political finance regulation impacts on party organisation and applies it to a diverse grouping of six parties from the Australian State of New South Wales. We find that all parties seek to capture the benefits of compliance, and minimise their exposure to the risks of non-compliance, by centralising and professionalising their organisation. However, the intensity of these responses is moderated by party characteristics, including levels of institutionalisation, party family type and incumbency status. The research thus highlights the intended and unintended consequences of regulation on party organisation, and illuminates the mechanisms through which change occurs.