The refund comes following reports by Fairfax Media that the group already paid back $11,000 more than a year ago to the company after it attracted the attention of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Mr Hockey's office confirmed on Thursday that a further $22,000 had been repaid in so-called ''membership fees'' for a Liberal Party instrument in his North Sydney electorate known as the ''North Sydney Forum''.

News of the initial $11,000 repayment prompted the NSW division of the Liberal Party this week to repay almost $75,000 in donations made by the company into its coffers.

The company's chairman at the time had been Arthur Sinodinos, who went on to secure endorsement in the Liberal Party for automatic entry into the Senate in late 2011 filling a casual vacancy created by the outgoing Helen Coonan.

He was named assistant treasurer in Tony Abbott's frontbench in September.

The stench of corruption surrounding multiple aspects of AWH, including claims of secret equity by the Obeid family, misappropriation of millions in public funds, and plans to corruptly obtain lucrative contracts with Sydney Water, has already cost Senator Sinodinos his ministerial post.

The revelation that yet more donations went from AWH to the Liberal Party suggests the full extent of the web of shadowy financial links between the company and senior Liberal and Labor figures has not yet fully been exposed.

Also on Thursday it emerged that AWH, the infrastructure firm at the centre of a corruption inquiry, gave its largest donation to the NSW Liberals when Senator Sinodinos was under fire over poor fund-raising efforts as state Liberal Party Treasurer.

In late 2010 Senator Sinodinos, who entered Parliament the following year, was AWH chairman and also NSW Liberal Party treasurer, a role in which he was in charge of raising money from the corporations before that year's federal election in November.

But amid recriminations about the Coalition's narrow election loss, Senator Sinodinos' fund-raising efforts were being criticised within the NSW division.

Election funding records show that several weeks later, on December 3, AWH donated $30,000 to the NSW Liberals.

Senator Sinodinos has said he has no recollection of the donations.

As treasurer, Senator Sinodinos chaired the party's finance committee. But on Thursday, acting NSW Liberal state director Simon McInnes, who sat on the committee as finance director, said it ''never discussed details of individual donors - we only talked about donations in total''.

Liberal fund-raiser arranged meeting 

Liberal fund-raiser Paul Nicolaou arranged a 2007 meeting between then lord mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman and controversial businessman Nick Di Girolamo while organising a $5000 donation to the future premier's fund-raising account.

An email released by the Independent Commission Against Corruption shows Mr Nicolaou - retained as a lobbyist by the company of which Mr Di Girolamo was chief executive, Rouse Hill Infrastructure Consortium - confirmed the meeting in June 2007.

The same year, Eddie Obeid jnr, son of disgraced Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid, was hired by the company as it looked for business opportunities in Queensland.

''The lord mayor of Brisbane is happy to see you,'' Mr Nicolaou wrote to Mr Di Girolamo. ''The person whom I am liaising with on your behalf would like you to donate the $5k as soon as possible''.

Mr Nicolaou explained the cheque ''should be made out to the 'Forward Brisbane Leadership'''.

Mr Nicolaou, who is currently NSW chief executive of the Australian Hotels Association, did not respond to a request for comment.

Apology: An earlier version did not make clear that any funds paid by Australian Water Holdings were paid to Joe Hockey's fundraising and campaigning arm and were refunded by that same body. The Herald accepts Mr Hockey did not personally receive or refund any money from AWH. The Herald regrets the error.

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