Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale received almost $150,000 in donations in the months just after his 2012 landslide election, almost as much as he raised during the campaign itself.

Details of his private fundraising efforts, obtained by the ABC, show that two years out from the next election, Councillor Pisasale already has an election war chest almost as big as the one he used to fight his last campaign.

Some of the most generous donors in the past two years include developers who did not appear in the disclosures Cr Pisasale made to the Electoral Commission of Queensland detailing his election-related fundraising and expenditures.

The biggest single donor was Springfield Land Corporation, controlled by Maha Sinnathamby, which has built a satellite town on the outskirts of Ipswich. The company gave $10,000 at an "anniversary dinner" in December 2012 and a further $2,000 in June last year.

Springfield Land does not appear in disclosures covering the four years up to the 2012 election - except for $100 it gave Cr Pisasale via Paypal in February 2012, an amount too small to be detailed.

Building firm Hutchinson, which gave $5,000 at the anniversary dinner, and Wingate Properties, which paid $2,000 for an auction item at the event, also do not appear in post-election disclosures.

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Other post-election donors included Japanese house builder Sekisui House, which gave $2,500 at the 2012 anniversary dinner and a further $2,500 at a "golf day" in June last year.

Sekisui has been linked to Australian Water Holdings (AWH), the company at the centre of inquiries by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in New South Wales.

AWH's chief executive Nick di Girolamo and the director of its Queensland subsidiary, Wayne Myers, had several meetings with Cr Pisasale and the Ipswich Council between 2008 and 2010 to discuss possible business in the state.

Candidates in local elections are required only to make disclosures once every four years, after each election.

But Cr Pisasale has provided the ABC with a detailed breakdown of donations received between June 2011 and February 2014.

The document shows he raised a total of $89,500 between May and December 2012.

Since his election in April 2012, which he won with more than 85 per cent of the vote, he has raised a total of $144,000.

This compares with the $126,000 he declared as campaign funding received prior to the 2012 election.

Donations channelled into Forward Ipswich Inc

Cr Pisasale channels his political donations through an incorporated association, Forward Ipswich Inc, which is regulated by Queensland Fair Trading.

He has told ABC Local Radio he was advised by the Local Government Association of Queensland to set up such a vehicle because it was tax-efficient.

The annual return provided to Fair Trading for the 2013 financial year shows the Ipswich mayor raised just under $100,000 over the period: $83,000 at the anniversary dinner and $13,000 from "functions".

Forward Ipswich, whose president is Cr Pisasale, had expenditures of $65,000 in the same period. Half of this went on organising the anniversary dinner, with another $10,000 spent on advertising.

Also shown in the return is $1,000 spent on "car parking infringements" and $46 on "dog registration".

Pisasale reported as saying he would 'return' unspent funds

With almost $50,000 left unspent after Cr Pisasale's 2012 campaign and subsequent fundraising, there was $109,000 in cash in Forward Ipswich at the end of June 2013. About another $40,000 has been raised since.

Cr Pisasale was reported as saying after the 2012 campaign that he would "return" $60,000 of unspent campaign funds, but it is unclear what he meant. The ABC has sought comment from him.

Cr Pisasale this week said law firm Clayton Utz would review his campaign finances and documents from the ICAC inquiries into AWH, looking for any mention of Ipswich Council.

According to the mayor's spokesman, the review was the idea of the council's chief executive.

Council CEO Jim Lindsay said it appeared AWH "may have used Ipswich and its officials to justify expenses, make claims against meetings with council that were never held, and had promoted deals that were never done".

Cr Pisasale's latest disclosures set him apart from other mayors in south-east Queensland, who provide far less information about their political finances.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate raised $340,000 for his 2012 campaign, but all of it was channelled through private companies that he controls and which do not provide financial details.

Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland, who raised $255,000 in the four years to 2012, provided details of donations received directly and through a trust, Moreton Bay Futures, but he has published no details of any fundraising since 2012.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's campaign was funded via Forward Brisbane Leadership, a fundraising entity set up for his predecessor Campbell Newman, so it is not possible to isolate donations specifically for him.

Mr Newman stepped down as Brisbane lord mayor in 2011 to run for state premier.

Pisasale had dinner with Di Girolamo but 'didn't attend strip club'

The ABC's 7.30 program has established the extent to which both Mr Newman and Cr Pisasale were lobbied by AWH.

The NSW anti-corruption watchdog ICAC has been examining allegations that huge expenses were charged by AWH to Sydney Water, a taxpayer-funded utility.

Hearings have been told AWH paid $5,000 to Campbell Newman's lord mayoral campaign fund in 2007 in order to gain a meeting with him.

A document tendered at ICAC shows Mr Di Girolamo and Eddie Obeid Jr, the son of former NSW minister Eddie Obeid, spent more than $120,000 on expenses related to trips to Ipswich.

Cr Pisasale was taken to exclusive Brisbane restaurants Il Centro and Gambaro's.

Personal credit card statements of Mr Di Girolamo tendered at ICAC also show that in August 2009 after one of those dinners he visited a nearby strip club, The Velvet Cigar.

Cr Pisasale confirmed he attended the dinner but said he did not go to the Velvet Cigar.

"I was there that night ... just talking and getting an update on what was happening, but I can assure you I didn't go to any strip club and I wasn't at any Velvet Cigar," he said.

"I can tell you what - they never got any happy ending with me with infrastructure and I suppose they were looking for their own."

Mr Di Girolamo declined a request for interview but his lawyer issued a statement to 7.30.

"As you note these expenses appear on our client's personal ANZ account and our client stresses that there is no allegation of those expenses having been passed to Australian Water Holdings," it said.

"Furthermore, it has never been alleged at ICAC that those charges were passed to Sydney Water."

Do you know more? Contact investigations@abc.net.au