Less than a fortnight before resumption of a corruption inquiry examining its election funding activities, the NSW Liberals have launched a new forum to raise political donations.
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The Federal Forum was registered as a business name with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission on Wednesday.
It is understood the new body will replace the discredited Millennium Forum, which gained notoriety during recent public hearings at the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
In public hearings in May, ICAC heard that senior Liberal Party officials used the Millennium Forum and another Liberal-linked entity, the Free Enterprise Foundation, to funnel prohibited donations, including from property developers, into the 2011 NSW election campaign.
It is alleged donations prohibited under NSW law were instead made to the Free Enterprise Foundation, a federal body. The Free Enterprise Foundation would then donate to the NSW Liberals' state campaign.
ICAC was told Millennium Forum executive chairman Paul Nicolaou had worked with the acting state director of the Liberal Party, Simon McInnes, and had explained the system to him.
The commission was told a ‘‘substantial part’’ of $700,000 donated to the NSW Liberals by the Free Enterprise Foundation before the 2011 election was from illegal donors.
As a result of the allegations, Mr Nicolaou resigned and remains on indefinite personal leave from his role as chief executive of the NSW branch of the Australian Hotels Association.
The Millennium Forum has been the NSW Liberal Party's chief fund-raising body for federal election campaigns. But it is believed the party felt that after its name was tarnished at ICAC, potential donors would be reluctant to attend events held under its banner.
The Federal Forum will be administered by the honorary treasurer of the NSW Liberal Party, former federal MP Peter McGauran, who is the chief executive of the Australian Racing Board.
Like the Millennium Forum, the business name is registered to a private company owned by the NSW Liberal Party, Bunori Pty Ltd, of which Mr McInnes remains a director.
ICAC's inquiry into Liberal Party fund-raising, codenamed Operation Spicer, resumes in the first week of August after adjourning to investigate new evidence.
It is investigating allegations slush funds were used to funnel illegal political donations to candidates, including those on the central coast aligned with former energy minister Chris Hartcher and former police minister Mike Gallacher.
