Campaign accounts
Candidates and the lead candidate of a group (on behalf of a group) must open a campaign account before $1,000 or more in political donations is accepted and before $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure is incurred by the candidate or group.
The lead candidate of a group of candidates must open a campaign account prior to the group incurring $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure and prior to the group accepting $1,000 or more in political donations.
A candidate who is a member of the group must also open their own campaign account that is separate to the group’s account before they themselves incur $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure or accept $1,000 or more in political donations.
A candidate who is not a member of a group must open a campaign account prior incurring $1,000 or more in political donations or incurring $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure.
The name on a campaign account is a matter for candidates and groups to discuss with the financial institution.
Yes. A candidate can deposit their own money into their ‘candidate’ campaign account. The amount paid must be disclosed in the half-yearly political donation disclosure form under the section “Contributions made by the candidate into the campaign account”. Such payments are not political donations.
A candidate who is a member of a group can pay their own money into the group’s campaign account, however, this is a political donation from the candidate to their group and is subject to the donation caps and the other rules that apply to political donations.