2023 NSW State election: Political participants bulletin No.4
Issued 22 December 2022
On this page
1. Political donation disclosures
Lodge and view pre-election donation disclosures on our website
Disclose pre-election donations online using Funding and Disclosure Online.
All reportable political donations made or received in the lead-up to the election must be disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission within 21 days.
The pre-election donation disclosure period commenced on 1 October 2022 and ends on election day Saturday, 25 March 2023. Pre-election period disclosures must be made by political parties, elected members, candidates, groups of candidates, associated entities, and third-party campaigners.
Pre-election donation disclosures are published shortly after they are lodged. The NSW Electoral Commission is required to publish disclosures, which facilitates public awareness of political donations and promotes transparency in the election.
Pre-election period disclosures can be viewed on our website by choosing the following search options:
Relevant Reporting Period: 2022/2023
Disclosure Types: Pre-Election Donation
More information about Pre-election period disclosures.
Prepare for the half-yearly donation disclosure lodgement period commencing 1 January 2023
Half-yearly donation disclosures for the 1 July to 31 December 2022 period can be lodged from 1 January 2023. Half-yearly disclosures must include all political donations made or received during the half-year period, except those already disclosed in a pre-election period disclosure.
Disclosures must be lodged by all political parties, elected members, candidates, groups of candidates, associated entities, and third-party campaigners. If you did not make or receive any reportable political donations in the half-year period, or you have reported all political donations in pre-election period disclosures, you are still required to make a ‘nil’ disclosure.
Disclosures must be submitted by Monday, 13 February 2023 (a recent legislative change to the Electoral Funding Act 2018 extended the disclosures lodgement period from four to six weeks).
Half-yearly disclosures can be started now online, and must be submitted during the lodgement period (between 1 January and 13 February 2023) using Funding and Disclosure Online. Alternatively, download disclosure forms on our website from 1 January 2023.
More information about disclosing half-yearly donations.
2. Postal vote applications
Candidates or political parties intending to distribute postal vote applications to electors are reminded they must use the approved form of the application. You can request a copy by emailing candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.
The approved form contains a placeholder to include complying electoral material. The content of the approved PVA form supplied by the NSW Electoral Commission must not be altered.
If you intend to distribute postal vote applications that include your electoral material, you may provide us with a copy of your proposed content for review prior to printing, which may help to identify any issues of non-compliance with legislative requirements.
A reply-paid envelope provided with the postal vote application should not be designed to give the appearance that it is being sent directly to the NSW Electoral Commission when, in fact, the envelope is to be sent elsewhere.
3. Integrity hub and Disinformation register
The NSW Electoral Commission website includes a new Integrity hub. The aim of the Integrity hub is to provide a centralised location for information about the NSW Electoral Commission’s role as the independent regulator of elections and political participants in New South Wales. It includes information focused on the transparency of electoral processes, disclosures, and the investigation of breaches of lobbying and electoral laws.
The hub provides guidance and support to political participants through educational resources and our regulatory priorities. View the Integrity hub.
The Integrity hub includes links to our Disinformation register. False information about election processes circulating in the community, including through different forms of media, can undermine confidence in the integrity of democratic processes and have broader consequences for society. To mitigate this risk, the NSW Electoral Commission undertakes ongoing monitoring of media and social media during election periods. The Disinformation Register will track and rebut prominent false and misleading statements about electoral processes in our state. It will also note any action taken by the NSW Electoral Commission in response to the disinformation. View the Disinformation register.
4. Candidate information webinars
The next webinar is at 11am Thursday, 2 February 2023 and will cover the following topics:
Nomination process
Legislative Council Second Preference Groups
Nomination Online Management System
Postal Voting Applications
Learn more information about the webinar series and register your attendance for the next webinar. If you are unable to attend, please note that webinars are recorded and published on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Webinar 2, held on Tuesday, 22 November, is now available for viewing. Questions asked throughout the webinar have now been answered and are also available on our website. View Webinar 2 – questions and answers.
5. Candidate and electoral participant helpdesk
The helpdesk operates Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The helpdesk can be contacted on 1300 022 011 or via email at candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.
Please note that the NSW Electoral Commission will be closed from Monday, 26 December 2022 to Friday, 6 January 2023, inclusive.
6. Candidate handbook
The candidate handbook is being finalised following recent changes to electoral legislation ahead of the 2023 NSW State election. The handbook will be available as soon as possible on our website after the Christmas closedown period. Participants will be notified once it is published.
7. Legislative council initial count process
The NSW Electoral Commission recently invited Members of the NSW Parliament and registered political parties to provide feedback about the initial count process for the Legislative Council on election night at the 2023 NSW State election. Please refer to Bulletin No.1.
Two registered political parties made submissions. Submissions were also received from members of the public who have previously worked for the NSW Electoral Commission at state and local government elections in senior election official roles.
Proposed options for the Legislative Council initial count process
Three options were provided for consideration:
1. Not conducting an initial count of Legislative Council ballot papers on election night
2. Continuing with a limited initial count for a selected number of groups (as happened in 2019); and
3. Conducting an initial count for each group of candidates who have a group voting square (GVS) until 10:30pm. This is the same process as the initial count of Senate ballot papers at a federal election and for the NSW State election in 2015 and is the option preferred by the NSW Electoral Commission.
There will be an initial sort and count for each group voting square above the line
Submissions made by registered political parties supported the preferred option. The NSW Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) has also previously noted its preference that an initial count of Legislative Council ballot papers happen on election night, if possible. The Electoral Commissioner considers the preferred option is most likely to achieve the right balance between the public interest in having a transparent and accurate initial count process on election night and ensuring a safe working environment for NSW Electoral Commission staff and political participants, including scrutineers.
Accordingly, the Electoral Commissioner has determined the following for the Legislative Council initial count process on election night at the 2023 NSW State election:
Ballot papers will be sorted according to the first preference vote for each group of candidates who have a GVS above the line
Blank ballot papers will be sorted to one pile
All other ballot papers, i.e. ballot papers marked both above and below the line, ballot papers marked below the line only, obvious informal ballot papers and ballot papers the election officials are unsure how to sort will be sorted to one ‘Others including Informals’ pile.
The ballot papers will then be counted and a report of this initial count published on the NSW Electoral Commission website on election night.
To ensure staff and candidate scrutineers’ work health and safety, counting will cease on the election night by 10:30pm. Initial counts of Legislative Council ballot papers not completed by that time will continue from the Monday following the election day.
Other feedback received during the consultation
Feedback: Clarify the ‘Others’ count that appears on the Virtual Tally Room (VTR)
The ‘Others including Informals’ pile is reported on the VTR simply as ‘Other’. The VTR will include the following explanation:
'Other' ballot papers include the following ballot papers, which will be sorted to the correct category during the Check Count in the week(s) following election day:
ballot papers marked both above the line and below the line
ballot papers marked below the line only
ballot papers an election official was unsure how to sort
ballot papers that are obviously informal.
Feedback: The Legislative Council initial count should commence while the Legislative Assembly two candidates preferred count is being conducted
Voting centre managers are instructed that only a small number of staff are required to conduct the two candidate preferred count (also known as the TCP count) and that the remainder of staff should be allocated to the Legislative Council initial count.
Feedback: Electronic scanning should be used to complete a single count Legislative Council ballot papers
Scanning of the Legislative Council ballot papers is not an option for this election. The JSCEM has also noted its preference that an initial count of Legislative Council ballot papers happen on the election night, if possible.
Feedback: New procedures are required if counting is incomplete at 10:30pm
Training and procedures have been prepared to support election officials at a voting centre who have not completed the initial count on election night to reconcile, secure and pack the ballot papers for counting from the Monday after the election.
Feedback: Counting should continue on the Sunday after election day
Counting will recommence on Monday to ensure the work, health and safety of NSW Electoral Commission staff, candidates, scrutineers and volunteers.
Please contact us if you have questions about the Legislative Council initial count.
If you have any questions about the initial count process for the 2023 NSW Legislative Council election, please contact the Counting and Results team at candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.