Elected member, candidate and group campaign accounts

General requirements

An elected member, candidate or group of candidates who is responsible for managing their own political donations and electoral expenditure is required to keep a campaign account if:

• $1,000 or more in political donations is accepted in the election period or

• $1,000 or more in electoral expenditure is incurred in the election period.

The election period for an election commences 30 days after the previous general election and ends 30 days after the election day for the election.

The campaign account is to be a separate account held in Australian dollars with a financial institution. There are no requirements under electoral funding laws as to the name of the account.

The elected member, candidate, or lead candidate of the group is responsible for operating the campaign account.

The lead candidate of the group is the candidate in the group:

• whose name is first in the order of names in the Register of candidates in relation to the group or
• whose name is first in the order of names of candidates on a ballot paper (whichever occurs first).

The NSW Electoral Commission may authorise, in exceptional circumstances, a person other than an elected member, the lead candidate of a group and a candidate to operate a campaign account.

How the account must be used

Where political donations are used to make payments for electoral expenditure:

• political donations are to be paid by the elected member, candidate or lead candidate of the group into the campaign account

• the electoral expenditure is to be paid by the elected member, candidate or lead candidate of the group from the campaign account.

All payments for electoral expenditure must be paid from the campaign account except minor payments (being payments for items of electoral expenditure of $50 or less) not exceeding a total of $1,000 in the election period. Such payments must, however, be recorded in the petty cash book maintained for the candidate, group or elected member.

Payments into and out of the account

The following may be paid into a campaign account:

• political donations made to the elected member, candidate or group

• electoral funding payments made to the candidate by the NSW Electoral Commission

• money paid into the account by the elected member, candidate or group member.

Payments out of a campaign account may only be made for the purpose of:

• electoral expenditure of the elected member, candidate or group

• electoral expenditure of a party of which the elected member, candidate or group's members are a member, with approval from the elected member, candidate or group members

• reimbursing the elected member, candidate or group for money they paid into the account

• making a political donation to an elected member, candidate or group who are members of the same party as the elected member, candidate or group who owns the account

• expenditure for parliamentary or council duties or in connection with community activities.

Closing the account

After the elected member, candidate or group ceases to be an elected member, candidate or group and the account is no longer required, the remaining amount in the account is to be paid:

• to the party of which the person was a member when they last became an elected member or contested an election

• in the case of a group – to the campaign accounts of the members of the group, divided equally

• if the above do not apply, to a charity nominated by the person or by the NSW Electoral Commission.

If a candidate is to receive a payment from the NSW Electoral Commission from the Election Campaigns Fund the account is to remain open so the payment can be made into the account.

When the account is no longer required, the account may be closed. Bank statements of the account must be kept for the purpose of the NSW Electoral Commission's compliance audits.