Disclosing political donations and electoral expenditure
Candidates and groups of candidates are required to make disclosures from the time they are registered or nominated for the election up to, and including, the relevant disclosure period ending 30 June 2023.
Lead candidates of groups must submit candidate disclosures as well as group disclosures on behalf of their group.
Candidates who are elected at the election must also submit elected member disclosures.
Candidates and groups must submit half-yearly political donation disclosures and annual electoral expenditure disclosures even if no political donations are made or received or no electoral expenditure is incurred.
All reportable political donations made or received between 1 October 2022 and 25 March 2023 (inclusive) must be disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission within 21 days as part of a pre-election period donation disclosure.
A reportable political donation is a donation that is valued at $1,000 or more. This includes multiple donations made by the same donor to the same recipient in the current financial year (starting 1 July 2022) that, in aggregate, are valued at $1,000 or more. Any reportable political donations made before 1 October 2022 or after 25 March 2023 and all small political donations (under $1,000) do not need to be disclosed within 21 days, but instead must be disclosed in the appropriate half-yearly donation disclosure.
More information about pre-election period donation disclosure.
Any reportable political donations made before 1 October 2022 or after 25 March 2023 and all small political donations (under $1,000) do not need to be disclosed within 21 days as part of a pre-election period disclosure, but instead must be disclosed in the appropriate half-yearly donation disclosure.
All reportable political donations made or received between 1 October 2022 and 25 March 2023 (inclusive) must be disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission within 21 days as part of a pre-election period donation disclosure. If multiple donations made by the same donor to the same recipient in the current financial year (starting 1 July 2022) become reportable during the pre-election period (1 October 2022 to 25 March 2023) by aggregating to $1,000 or more during that time, then all the small donations that are part of that aggregated reportable political donation must be disclosed in a pre-election period disclosure within 21 days of the aggregation occurring.
More information about pre-election period donation disclosure.
Yes - any personal payments must be disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission in the relevant half-yearly disclosure of political donations. While there is not a limit on the amount a candidate can contribute to their own campaign, electoral expenditure is capped, and the candidate must not breach the applicable electoral expenditure cap. All personal payments or contributions, along with political donations received must be deposited into the campaign account, and payments for electoral expenditure must be made from the campaign account and disclosed as part of an annual disclosure of electoral expenditure.
During the financial year in which an election is held, there are exemptions to caps on political donations. A Legislative Council candidate who is a member of a party can make a political donation to the party of up to $55,800 that is to be disregarded for the purpose of the cap; and a Legislative Council candidate who is not a member of a party but is a member of a group can make a political donation to the group up to $55,800 that is to be disregarded for the purpose of the cap. A Legislative Assembly candidate can make a political donation to their party of up to $66,400, during each financial year between the previous NSW State election and the 2023 NSW State election, that is to be disregarded for the purpose of the cap. Such donations are required to be disclosed as part of the appropriate half-yearly donation disclosure.
View the cap amounts and more information on political donations.
Political donations received before the pre-election period which are less than $1,000 or do not aggregate to $1,000 are considered small donations and must be disclosed in the half-yearly donation disclosure for the period 1 June to 31 December 2022 due by 13 February 2023.
Candidates must be registered for electoral funding purposes prior to nomination if they want to accept political donations or make payment for electoral expenditure. Those candidates must also disclose reportable political donations made or received within 21 days.
The party agent of a political party may accept political donations on behalf of a future candidate before the candidate has been identified, selected or otherwise endorsed by the party. Such reportable political donations received must be disclosed by the party agent within 21 days.
More information about pre-election period donation disclosure.