Disclosing electoral expenditure

Electoral expenditure must be disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission annually by:

• political parties
• elected members
• candidates
• groups of candidates
• associated entities
• third-party campaigners.

The annual period starts on 1 July and ends on 30 June. All electoral expenditure incurred must be disclosed within 12 weeks after the end of the annual period, by 22 September. Disclosures must be submitted even if no electoral expenditure was incurred in the annual period.

Re-use of election material and disclosure requirements

For the purpose of annual disclosure, electoral expenditure is taken to be incurred when the duty to pay for the goods or services arises.

However, when calculating electoral expenditure for the applicable expenditure caps for election campaigns, expenditure for election material is taken to be incurred when the material is ‘distributed’.

If you re-use election material left over from a previous campaign, you don’t need to disclose this expenditure again but you do need to tell us when you lodge your annual disclosure using the checkbox provided on the disclosure form. Its value may contribute towards your expenditure cap and we may need to contact you for more details in order to quantify the expenditure with reference to past disclosures and records.

Find more information about the re-use of material and application of expenditure caps.