Registration of candidates
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What is registration?
Registration means being registered under the Electoral Funding Act to be regulated as a candidate by the NSW Electoral Commission for a state or local government election and having your registered details included on a public register. The NSW Electoral Commission publishes all registers on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
A candidate must be registered with the NSW Electoral Commission for an election before accepting political donations or making payments for electoral expenditure for an election.
Candidates registering for a NSW State by-election
Candidates are responsible for their own registration. To register, the candidate must complete and lodge the relevant application for registration. Candidates can register using Funding and Disclosure Online, the NSW Electoral Commission’s online system for political participants to comply with NSW electoral funding laws.
The deadline for submitting an application for registration is the day of the close of nominations.
All candidates who will not accept political donations or make payments for electoral expenditure before being nominated are taken to be registered on the day their nomination form is lodged. From this time, all candidates can lawfully accept political donations and make payments for electorate expenditure for the election.
Refusal to register a candidate
The NSW Electoral Commission may refuse to register a candidate if information provided in an application for registration is incomplete or incorrect.
Updating a candidate’s registered details
Candidates must notify the NSW Electoral Commission of any changes to the details included on the register within 30 days of the change occurring. If a candidate becomes a silent elector at any time after registration, the candidate should notify the NSW Electoral Commission. To update details with the NSW Electoral Commission use Funding and Disclosure Online following the instructions on updating your registered details. The NSW Electoral Commission will make changes to registered details of a candidate upon receipt of the form.
Cancellation of a candidate’s registration
The NSW Electoral Commission will cancel the registration of a candidate if requested by the candidate. Even if the candidate registration is cancelled, there may be future disclosure obligations in relation to the candidate.