Electoral Expenditure

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Electoral Expenditure

This section provides answers to the following questions:

What is Electoral Expenditure?

Electoral expenditure is money spent on promoting or opposing a party, or the election of a candidate or candidates. It is also money spent on influencing the voting at an election.

Electoral expenditure includes expenditure for:

  • advertisements on radio, television, the Internet, cinemas, newspapers, billboards, posters, brochures, how-to-vote cards and any other printed election material;
  • holding election rallies;
  • distribution of election material;
  • travel and accommodation of a candidate for election;
  • research associated with election campaigns;
  • raising funds for an election;
  • stationery, telephones, messages, postage and electronic transmissions;
  • employing staff engaged in election campaigns;
  • auditing of a disclosure.

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What is NOT Electoral Expenditure?

Certain types of expenditure do not constitute electoral expenditure: These include (but are not limited to):

  • payment of the nomination deposit by a candidate or group for an election;
  • factual advertising of meetings to be held for the purpose of selecting persons for nomination as candidates for election;
  • factual advertising of meetings for organisational purposes of parties, branches of parties, or conferences, committees or other bodies of parties or branches of parties;
  • factual advertising or any other matter involving predominantly the administration of parties or conferences, committees or other bodies of parties or branches of parties.

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What is Electoral Communication Expenditure?

Electoral communication expenditure is electoral expenditure incurred during the capped expenditure period of an election. Electoral Communication expenditure includes:

  • expenditure on advertisements in radio, television, the Internet, cinemas, newspapers, billboards, posters, brochures, how-to-vote cards and other election material;
  • expenditure on the production and distribution of election material;
  • expenditure on the Internet, telecommunications, stationery and postage;
  • expenditure incurred in employing staff engaged in election campaigns; and
  • expenditure incurred for office accommodation for any such staff and candidates.

Electoral communication expenditure is not electoral expenditure on travel and travel accommodation, election campaign research, election fund raising and auditing campaign accounts.

Electoral communication expenditure is taken to be incurred when the services for which the expenditure is incurred are actually provided or goods for which the expenditure is incurred are actually delivered. In particular:

  • expenditure on advertising is incurred when the advertising is broadcast and published;
  • expenditure on the production and distribution of election material is incurred when the material is distributed; and
  • expenditure on the employment of staff is incurred during the period of their employment.

Disclosure is required of all electoral expenditure incurred, by or on behalf of a party (whether or not a registered party), an elected member, a group, a candidate or a third-party campaigner during the relevant disclosure period, being each 12 month period ending on 30 June. Unless otherwise prescribed, disclosures are to be made before 22 September.

Adjustment for Inflation of Monetary Caps

The Election Funding Authority has adjusted amounts calculated for the monetary caps on electoral communication expenditure and political donations, in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosure Act 1981.

Caps on electoral communications expenditure

The adjusted amounts for State elections (including by-elections) up to and including polling day for the 2015 State election are as follows:

Electoral communication expenditure incurred by: General cap
a party that endorses a group for the Legislative Council and between 0 and 10 candidates for the Legislative Assembly $1,166,600
all other parties $111,200 x number of Legislative Assembly electoral districts in which a candidate is endorsed by the party
a group of unendorsed candidates for the Legislative Council $1,166,600
an endorsed candidate for the Legislative Assembly $111,200
an unendorsed candidate for the Legislative Assembly $166,700
an ungrouped candidate for the Legislative Council $166,700
a candidate for a Legislative Assembly by-election $222,300
a third-party campaigner $1,166,600 (if registered with the EFA before the capped expenditure period for an election); or
$583,300 (in any other case)
a third-party campaigner (by-election) $22,300
Electoral communication expenditure incurred for the election of a candidate in a particular district by: Additional cap (within the general cap)
a party $55,600 per district
a third-party campaigner $22,300 per district