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✶ New Zealand · 2026 general election

Small money,
tight limits.

A New Zealand party can spend at most about $4.06m on its whole campaign. It cannot buy television or radio advertising with its own money: broadcast ads come out of a public allocation the Electoral Commission shares between parties. There are no PACs, and every donation over $6,000 a year must be published.

Public money · decided 8 May 2026, varied 7 August 2026

The broadcasting
allocation.

Parliament set aside $4.15m (including GST) for party election advertising on radio, television and the internet. The Commission weighs each party's vote and seats at the last election, its MPs, polls, membership and "the need to give a fair opportunity" to each party. In all $4.15m went to 15 parties.

  1. National $1.12m 27.1%
  2. Labour $950k 22.9%
  3. Green $410k 9.9%
  4. ACT $345k 8.3%
  5. NZ First $302k 7.3%
  6. Te Pāti Māori $237k 5.7%
  7. Opportunity $119k 2.9%
  8. NZ Loyal $86k 2.1%
  9. Animal Justice $82k 2.0%
  10. Legalise Cannabis $82k 2.0%
  11. Conservative $82k 2.0%
  12. Free Palestine $82k 2.0%
  13. Outdoors & Freedom $82k 2.0%
  14. Vision NZ $82k 2.0%
  15. Women's Rights $82k 2.0%
  16. Change NZ Not registered in time $0 0.0%
  17. People's Party NZ Not registered in time $0 0.0%
Varied allocation of 7 August 2026 (NZD incl. GST). Change New Zealand and People's Party NZ did not register by the start of the regulated period; their $78,887 each was shared out proportionally.

Parties may not spend their own money on radio or TV advertising time — only this allocation (Broadcasting Act 1989 Part 6, as described in the Commission's allocation decisions; the current text of the Act was not read for this edition). They can spend their own money on online, print and outdoor advertising, within the overall limit.

Regulated period · 7 August – 6 November 2026

What anyone
may spend.

$36k

Electorate candidate

Everything a candidate spends on advertising in the three months before polling day.

$1.50m

Party, plus $36k per electorate contested

A party's own advertising (not candidates'), excluding the broadcasting allocation.

$424k

Registered third party

Unions, lobby groups and others must register to spend more than $17k.

$4.06m party spending limit

$1.50m + 71 × $36k

Limits from the Electoral Commission's 2026 media kit (p.20).

Declared donations · 2025 to 24 October 2026

Who raised
the most.

In election year a party must report any donation over $20,000 within 20 working days; other large donations appear in its annual return. Together, parties declared about $21.9m from 2025 to late October 2026.

  1. National $8.47m 38.7%
  2. ACT $4.79m 21.9%
  3. Labour $3.27m 15.0%
  4. Green $2.19m 10.0%
  5. NZ First $2.11m 9.7%
  6. Opportunity $671k 3.1%
  7. Te Pāti Māori $256k 1.2%
  8. Te Tai Tokerau $50k 0.2%
  9. Animal Justice $13k 0.1%
  10. Women's Rights $9,651 0.0%
  11. Conservative $9,520 0.0%
  12. Vision NZ $6,718 0.0%
  13. Legalise Cannabis $336 0.0%
  14. Outdoors & Freedom $270 0.0%
Declared donations by party, NZD. Totals as tabulated on Wikipedia from the Commission's returns — unverified against the returns themselves.

Disclosure

What must
be published.

  • Party donations in an annual return over $6,000 (was $5,000 until the Electoral Amendment Act 2025)
  • Party donations in election year over $20,000 within 20 working days
  • Overseas donations to a party no more than $50 (unverified)
  • Third-party promoter registration spending over $17,000 in the regulated period
  • Third-party expense return spending over $100,000
  • Candidate returnsdue 9 March 2027 (donations and expenses)
  • Third-party promoter returnsdue 9 March 2027
  • Party expense returnsdue 8 April 2027

Deadlines from the 2026 media kit; thresholds from the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (its text was not read for this edition).

Registered as of 22 October 2026

25 third-party
promoters.

Groups that are not parties or candidates can campaign, but must register with the Commission to spend more than $17k in the regulated period, and file an expense return if they spend over $100,000.

List as published on Wikipedia from the Commission's register (the register itself is behind a bot check).

Compared with the United States

No super PACs,
no paid TV.

Spending is capped

US campaigns have no spending limits; New Zealand parties, candidates and third parties all do.

Broadcast ads are publicly funded

US candidates buy unlimited airtime; NZ parties use only their allocation for radio and TV.

No political action committees

Outside groups register as promoters and are capped at $424k.

See how US campaigns are funded → Prediction-market prices are on the elections page as information only; the Department of Internal Affairs treats offering such markets in New Zealand as illegal gambling.