Local Government Councillors

If you were elected as a local government councillor at the 2008 local government elections or a subsequent by-election you have disclsoure obligations under the Election Funding and Disclosures Act 1981 (the Act).

The Funding and Disclosure Guide for Elected Members and their Official Agents provides councillors and official agents with information about your obligations under the Act and information about how to complete and lodge a declaration form.

Each person who was elected as a local government councillor since 1 July 2008 is required to submit a Declaration of Political Donations and Electoral Expenditure every six months for the disclosure periods ending 30 June and 31 December. The declarations are due to be lodged with the Election Funding Authority by 25 August and 25 February each year respectively.

The declaration for the period ending 30 June 2009 is now available on this website. The declaration must be lodged with the Authority between 1 July 2009 and 25 August 2009.

You still must lodge a 'nil' declaration if you have received no political donations or incurred no electoral expenditure during a disclsoure period.

All local government councillors must lodge a declaration following each six month period ending either 31 December or 30 June for as long as they remain a councillor.

 

What to know before you accept political donations or incur electoral expenses...

As a local government councillor you must appoint an official agent and have your agent registered with the Election Funding Authority before you accept $1,000 or more in political donations or incur $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure between now and the next local government general election in 2012.

If you are required to appoint an official agent you must also open a campaign account with a bank, building society or credit union. Your official agent must be authorised with the financial institution to operate the account. Councillors are not permitted to make any transactions on the account including depositing political donations or paying for electoral expenditure.

An official agent is responsible for:

  • managing political donations and electoral expenditure on behalf of a councillor,
  • keeping proper records of a councillor's political donations and electoral expenditure, and
  • lodging the declarations of political donations and electoral expenditure on behalf of a councillor.

Official agents must:

  • be on the NSW electoral roll,
  • have not been convicted of an indictable offence, an offence under the Election Funding and Disclosures Act 1981, an offence involving dishonesty or an electoral offence, and
  • have successfully completed the training provided by the Authority.

The Authority has provided an on line training program for prospective agents. Complete the on line training today .

Once a prospective agent has successfully completed the training program the councillor is required to complete a Notice of Appointment of Official Agent form and lodge it with the Election Funding Authority. The Authority will register the person as the councillor's official agent if all the necessary criteria are met.

Councillors who receive receive less than $1,000 in political donations and incur less than $1,000 in electoral expenditure between now and the 2012 local government elections are not required to appoint an official agent and are deemed to be their own agent.

 

Political donations

As a councillor, you can only accept $1,000 or more in political donations if:

  • you have an official agent, and
  • political donations are made to the official agent.

A political donation is a gift (monetary or otherwise) made to or for the benefit of a councillor. Political donations include:

  • monetary donations,
  • the purchase of tickets and other items for a fund raising event,
  • the giving of a gift or the provision of a service at no charge (or at a discounted charge) also known as a gift 'in kind', and
  • annual subscriptions or membership payments to political parties.

Political donations of $1,000 or more are known as reportable political donations. Reportable political donations also include multiple donations that are less than $1,000 made by the same person to the same councillor in the same financial year where the donations in aggregate are $1,000 or more.

Your official agent must keep a record of the details of all reportable political donations including:

  • the name of the councillor to or for whose benefit the donation was made,
  • the name of the donor,
  • the residential address of the donor or, if the donor is not a person, the official address of the donor,
  • the ABN of the donor if the donor is not a person,
  • the date the donation was made, and
  • the amount of the donation.

In the case of donations that are not reportable political donation your official agent (or you if you don't have an agent) is required to record the total amount of these small donations received and the total value of the small donations.

  • reportable political donations can only be accepted from entities with an ABN or from individuals;
  • you cannot accept reportable political donations from unknown persons or entities;
  • you cannot accept certain indirect campaign contributions valued in excess of $1,000 including office accommodation, vehicles, computers and other equipment;
  • you cannot receive loans of $1,000 or more unless the details of the loan are recorded and disclosed; and
  • volunteer labour is not an in-kind gift or indirect campaign contribution.

 

Campaign accounts

Before accepting $1,000 or more in political donations or incurring $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure you must open a campaign account. All political donations must be paid into the account by your official agent and all payments for electoral expenditure must be paid from the account by your official agent.

Your official agent must be authorised to with the financial institution to operate the account. Your official agent can appoint someone in writing to act on their behalf to operate the campaign account.

A campaign account can only be used for the following purposes:

  • deposit personal funds of the councillor,
  • deposit political donations,
  • make payments for electoral expenditure,
  • make a payment to a councillor to reimburse them for personal funds they paid into the account,
  • make political donations to other councillors, members of Parliament, candidates or groups who are members of the same party as the councillor,
  • make payments for expenditure incurred in connection with a councillor's duties.

 

Issuing receipts for political donations

When an official agent receives a reportable political donation ($1,000 or more) for a councillor they must:

  • obtain the details of the donation,
  • write out a receipt (or acknowledgement slip for gifts and services provided in kind) for reportable political donations and issue the receipt to the donor; and
  • deposit the donation into the councillor's campaign account.

Each receipt and acknowledgement slip must contain a statement to advise the donor of their obligation to disclose political donations to the EFA.

The Authority provides receipt books to councillors and their official agents. Contact us to request receipt books and we will send some to you. There are 50 receipts per receipt book.

 

Electoral expenditure

Electoral expenditure is any expenditure for or in connection with promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or a group of candidates or for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the voting at an election.

This includes, but is not limited to, expenditure for:

  • advertisements in radio, television, the Internet, cinemas, newspapers, billboards, posters, how-to-votes and any other printed election material;
  • the distribution of electoral material;
  • raising funds for an election;
  • stationery, telephone, postage, electronic transmissions;
  • employment of staff for election campaigns;
  • election campaign research;
  • donations made by a councillor to other councillors, candidates, groups or parties.

Your official agent (or you if you don't have an agent) must keep proper records of your electoral expenditure including receipts or invoices for expenditure items and samples of all advertising and printed material.

 

Am I allowed to accept ‘in-kind’ contributions or indirect campaign contributions?

Councillors are not allowed to receive the following indirect campaign contributions if the value of the contribution exceeds $1,000:

  • the provision of office accommodation, vehicles, computers or other equipment,
  • the full or part payment by a person of electoral expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the councillor,
  • a person waiving all or part of a payment that is to be paid by a party, elected member, candidate or group to the person.

All other in-kind gifts of any value may be accepted by parties, elected members, candidates and groups.

An acknowledgement slip must be issued to the donor when they make an in-kind gift valued at more than $1,000. The acknowledgement must show the value of the gift, a description of the gift, the date of the gift, the name, address and ABN (if applicable) of the donor. Contact us to request free acknowledgement books.

In kind gifts and indirect campaign contributions must be disclosed as political donations by the party, elected member, candidate or group who received the gift.

Volunteer labour is not an in-kind gift or indirect campaign contribution.

Disclosing political donations and electoral expenditure

Each councillor is required to lodge a Declaration of Political Donations and Electoral Expenditure following each six month disclosure period.

The disclosure periods end on 30 June and 31 December each year.

Declarations for the period ending 30 June are due by 25 August each year. Declarations for the period ending 31 December are due by 25 February each year.

 

Auditing declarations

Declarations must be audited by a registered company auditor before being lodged with the Authority unless you meet one of the following exemption criteria:

  • you are lodging a "nil" declaration, or
  • either the political donations or electoral expenditure disclosed in the declaration is $2,500 or less.