Election Campaigns Fund
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The purpose of the Election Campaigns Fund is to reimburse eligible candidates and parties for certain electoral expenditure incurred in connection to a state election or a state by-election.
After an election, a political party or candidate that is eligible to receive a payment may make a claim with the NSW Electoral Commission to receive payments from the fund.
The NSW Electoral Commission publishes reports on payments made from the Election Campaigns Fund.
What is an eligible party or candidate?
Political parties
A party is eligible to receive a payment from the fund for a state general election if the party:
is registered for state elections with the NSW Electoral Commission on election day and was registered for at least 12 months prior to the issue of the writs for the election
endorses nominated candidates for the election
satisfies at least one of the following criteria:
for a Legislative Assembly election, the total number of first preference votes received by the party’s endorsed candidates is at least four per cent of the total number of first preference votes received by all candidates in electoral districts in which the party’s endorsed candidates were nominated
for a Legislative Council election, the total number of first preference votes received by the party’s endorsed candidates (and by all other candidates included in the same group) is at least four per cent of the total number of first preference votes received by candidates in that election
at least one candidate endorsed by the party is elected at the election.
Candidates
A candidate is eligible to receive a payment from the fund for a state general election (except candidates who are endorsed by an eligible party) or state by-election if the candidate:
the candidate registered with the NSW Electoral Commission as a candidate for the election
in the case of a candidate for the Legislative Council election, the candidate was not included in a group, or if included in a group, none of the group's members were endorsed by a party
satisfies at least one of the following criteria:
in the case of the Legislative Assembly election the candidate is elected, or receives at least four per cent of the first preference votes received by all candidates in the electoral district for which the candidate was nominated, or
in the case of the Legislative Council election the candidate is elected, or the total number of first preference votes received by the candidate (and, if included in a group, by all other candidates included in the same group) is at least four per cent of all first preference votes received by candidates in that election.
Amounts payable
The amount of expenditure reimbursed to eligible parties and candidates is the lesser amount of the following:
a certain amount (‘dollar per vote’) for each preference vote received by the candidate, or by the endorsed candidates (including all other candidates included in the same group) of the party or
the total amount of the actual campaign expenditure incurred by the candidate or party.
Actual campaign expenditure is electoral expenditure incurred in connection with a state election that is within a party or candidate’s expenditure cap and:
for a state general election – is incurred by a party or candidate between 1 July in the year before the election, to the end of election day, or
for a state by-election: is incurred by a candidate during the three-month period leading up to and including election day.
The ‘dollar per vote’ amounts payable to parties and candidates are adjusted for inflation every four years after a state general election. The ‘dollar per vote’ amounts payable to parties and candidates for the 2019 State general election and subsequent election periods are set out below.
The amounts have been adjusted following publication by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of the Consumer Price Index for the December 2022 quarter to determine the amounts payable for the 2027 NSW State election.
Parties
View the current ‘dollar per vote’ amounts for eligible parties.
Candidates
The current 'dollar per vote' amounts for eligible candidates are:
| Criteria | 2019 State election $ per vote |
Four-year period to 2023 State election $ per vote | Four-year period to 2027 State election $ per vote |
|---|---|---|---|
A candidate for a Legislative Assembly general election or by-election |
$4.32 per first preference vote received by the candidate |
$4.66 per first preference vote received by the candidate | $5.30 per first preference vote received by the candidate |
A candidate for a Legislative Council election |
$4.86 per first preference vote received by the candidate |
$5.25 per first preference vote received by the candidate | $5.97 per first preference vote received by the candidate |
Rules for making a claim
To receive a payment for an election, a claim for payment must be lodged with the NSW Electoral Commission within 120 days of the day for the return of the writ for the election.
The NSW Electoral Commission advises each eligible party and candidate after an election how and when to make a claim.
The NSW Electoral Commission will only approve a payment if the:
claim for payment has been lodged on time
claim for payment is made by the party or party agent of the party, or by the candidate
NSW Electoral Commission’s claim for payment form has been used
NSW Electoral Commission is satisfied the party or candidate is eligible for a payment
expenditure referred to in the claim is supported by copies of the accounts or receipts in respect of the expenditure.
The NSW Electoral Commission will disallow items of expenditure included in a claim, if it is proper to do so.
All Electoral Campaigns Fund claims for payment are published on the NSW Electoral Commission’s website.
Auditing a claim
The NSW Electoral Commission may audit a claim for payment made by a party or candidate. The party agent or candidate must assist the NSW Electoral Commission in conducting the audit by:
giving full and free access at all reasonable times to all accounts, records, documents and papers of the party agent and of the party or candidate, as the case may require, relating directly or indirectly to the expenditure referred to in the claim
giving all information and explanations that the NSW Electoral Commission reasonably asks for with respect to the expenditure referred to in the claim.
How to submit a claim
For instructions on submitting a claim form, please refer to our How-to guides under Funding and disclosure online.
Receiving a payment
Advance payments to parties
A registered party (registered for 12 months or more) that received a payment from the fund in relation to the previous state general election is entitled to receive advance payment prior to the next state general election.
An advance payment equal to 50 per cent of the total amount the party was entitled to receive for the previous state general election may be made to eligible parties between 1 October in the year prior to a state general election and election day.
A further advance payment of 25 per cent of the total amount the party was entitled to receive for the previous state general election, may be made to eligible parties after the issue of the writs for the general election.
The NSW Electoral Commission advises eligible parties of their entitlement to make a claim for an advance payment. An advance payment to a party is deducted from the party’s payment following the state general election.
Following a state general election, if a party that has received an advance payment, does not become eligible for payments from the fund after the election, the advance payment is to be repaid to the NSW Electoral Commission.
Preliminary payments to parties
Following a state general election, if a party makes a claim for payment, the NSW Electoral Commission will make a preliminary payment to a party within 14 days of the party making a claim for payment (if the NSW Electoral Commission is not able to finalise processing the claim within 14 days).
The preliminary payment is 90 per cent of the amount estimated by the NSW Electoral Commission to be payable to the party (taking into account any advance payments received).
Final payments to parties and single payments to candidates
The NSW Electoral Commission makes a final payment to a party, or a single payment to a candidate, after the claim has been subject to an audit by the NSW Electoral Commission.
How payments are made
Payments are made by electronic funds transfer. When making a claim for payment, a party or candidate will be asked to provide the account details for the payment.
A party can direct the NSW Electoral Commission to pay part of the party’s entitlement to one or more of the party’s endorsed candidates. A party should contact the NSW Electoral Commission for more information.
A payment to a candidate who is not a member of a registered party must be made to the candidate’s campaign account (if one was required to be kept) otherwise the payment will be made to an account held by the candidate.
A payment to a candidate that is a member of a registered party must be made to an account held by the candidate or to the party’s state campaign account.
A payment to a party must be made to an account held by the party or party agent.
No payments are made to a party or a candidate while:
the party or candidate has an outstanding declaration of political donations and electoral expenditure
the party has not provided the NSW Electoral Commission with its audited annual financial statements, or
the party has not provided the NSW Electoral Commission with a list of senior office holders.
The NSW Electoral Commission may deduct from a payment any amount it is authorised to recover from a party, eg an amount for an unlawful political donation.