THE advocacy group GetUp! accepted a record $1.12 million donation from a large union just before the federal election, at the same time supporting a ban on political donations from unions and business.

The donation from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union funded a prominent TV advertisement that attacked the Liberal leader Tony Abbott's ''archaic'' views on women and social issues in the days before the election in August.

It went to air as a GetUp! advertisement with no reference to being largely funded by a big Labor-affiliated union.

The high-profile group, which says it has more than 300,000 members, pursues issues such as climate change and refugees.

Its successful High Court challenge before the election enabled tens of thousands of young people to vote.