Mining magnate Clive Palmer put his hand in his pocket to give more than $7 million to help the political party he founded fight the last federal election, it has been revealed.

The handout is revealed in the official Australian Electoral Commission data on political donations made in the past financial year, released on Thursday.

It came as the data showed spending on political donations reached a record high of almost $440 million in 2022 – and the top five individual donors contributed 70 per cent of all cash handed over.

They included Mineralogy, Palmer’s mining company, which donated $7,088,867 to the United Australia Party in 2022/23.

Climate 200, a company that provided funding to the campaigns of teal independent candidates at the 2022 federal election, also received major personal donations.

Environmental advocate Marcus Catsaras stumped up $1 million to the climate advocacy group.

Share trader Rob Keldoulis made several personal donations worth $702,113 to Climate 200 between October 22 and May 2023.

Meanwhile, his company Keldoulis Investments, also supplied cash to the tune of $365,430 to the group.

Monica Whittingham, the wife of NSW-based British entrepreneur Matt, made two donations to Climate 200 in August and November 2022 worth $300,000.

PwC, which was pinged for leaking confidential tax office information in a major scandal, donated to both the Labor and Liberal parties between July 2022 and May 2023.

Australia’s other large consulting firms also gave money to the major parties. EY donated $227,853, Deloitte $177,126 and KPMG $163,200.

Perth-based company Hadley Holdings made two donations totalling $1,025,000 to Advance Australia in November 2022.

The self-described anti-leftist political lobby group funded campaigning against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum held in October 2023.

Pratt Holdings donated $1,010,500 to the Labor Party in January and March of 2023, with $500 sent to the NSW branch.

Under current rules, parties and individuals must annually disclose donations of more than $15,000.

Integrity advocates including the think tanks Centre for Public Integrity and Australia Institute have called for reforms to deal with record-high election spending and donor transparency.

Analysis by the centre in 2023 found election spending had increased by almost 85 per cent in the past two decades to reach the record high of 2022.

Australia Institute director Bill Browne said the electoral commission’s annual release highlighted the lack of transparency and integrity in Australian politics.

“We are learning today whether businesses made political donations 18 months ago,” he said.

“These lags and other loopholes make it difficult to see how politicians and political parties are being funded and by whom.”

The institute wants real-time donation disclosures introduced, a lower donation disclosure threshold and ministerial diaries to be made public.

This would reveal if there were any connections between political contributions and political access.

Browne said there was limited time for changes to take effect ahead of the next federal election.

“This is a wake-up call that 2024 is the last chance for meaningful democratic reform ahead of the 2025 election,” he said.

– AAP