Electoral Funding Act 2018

General The applicable caps on electoral expenditure for a State election campaign are as provided by this section, as modified by section 30 (Aggregation of applicable caps—State election campaigns).

Parties with Assembly candidates in a general election For a State general election, the applicable cap for a party that endorses candidates for election to the Assembly is $122,900 multiplied by the number of electoral districts in which a candidate is so endorsed.

Subsection (2) does not apply to a party that endorses candidates in a group for election to the Council and endorses candidates for election to the Assembly in not more than 10 electoral districts.

Other parties with Council candidates in a general election For a State general election, the applicable cap for a party that endorses candidates in a group for election to the Council, but does not endorse any candidates for election to the Assembly or does not endorse candidates in more than 10 electoral districts, is $1,288,500.

Independent groups of candidates in Council general elections For a periodic Council election, the applicable cap for a group of candidates who are not endorsed by any party is $1,288,500.

Party candidates in Assembly general election For a State general election, the applicable cap for a candidate endorsed by a party for election to the Assembly is $122,900.

Independent candidates in Assembly general election For a State general election, the applicable cap for a candidate not endorsed by any party for election to the Assembly is $184,200.

Non-grouped candidates in Council general election For a periodic Council election, the applicable cap for a candidate who is not included in a group is $184,200.

Candidates in Assembly by-election For a by-election for the Assembly, the applicable cap for a candidate (whether or not endorsed by a party) is $245,600.

Third-party campaigners For a State general election, the applicable cap for a third-party campaigner is—

$1,288,500—if the third-party campaigner was registered under this Act before the commencement of the capped State expenditure period for the election, or

$644,300—in other cases.

For a by-election for the Assembly, the applicable cap for a third-party campaigner is $180,720 for each by-election.

Additional cap for individual Assembly seats The applicable cap for parties and third-party campaigners is subject to an additional cap (within the overall applicable cap) in relation to State general elections, or by-elections in more than one electoral district, for electoral expenditure incurred substantially for the purposes of the election in a particular electoral district, being—

in the case of a party—$61,500 in respect of each such electoral district, or

in the case of a third-party campaigner—

for State general elections—$30,400 in relation to each electoral district, or

for by-elections in more than one electoral district—$180,720 in relation to each electoral district.

For the purposes of subsection (12), electoral expenditure is only incurred for the purposes of the election in a particular electoral district if the expenditure is for advertising or other material that—

explicitly mentions the name of a candidate in the election in that electoral district or the name of the electoral district, and

is communicated to electors in that electoral district, and

is not mainly communicated to electors outside that electoral district.

Indexation of capped amounts Each of the amounts referred to in this section is an adjustable amount that is to be adjusted for inflation as provided by Schedule 1.