Campaign Countdown - a timely reminder for candidates

LG Leader July 2017

With the Local Government General Elections drawing ever closer, and in the wake of the Australian Electoral Commission’s investigation into the One Nation Party with respect to where (or from whom) they got ‘that plane’, we considered it appropriate and timely to remind potential nominees of any obligations to disclose donations received in support of their electoral campaign. Of course, this is also applicable to existing elected members who intend to re-nominate.

Pursuant to sections 80-86 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (‘the Act’), a person who is a candidate for election to an office of a council must, within 30 days after the conclusion of the election, furnish to the CEO of the council a campaign donations return. This obligation exists irrespective of whether a candidate is successful or unsuccessful in their campaign for office and requires that a candidate disclose:

• the total amount or value of all gifts received during the disclosure period (the applicable disclosure period will vary depending on whether the candidate is a new candidate as determined by the Act, or if they have previously run for office);
• the number of persons who made gifts;
• the amount or value of each gift;
• the date on which each gift was made;
• if a gift was made on behalf of the members of an unincorporated association, the name of the association and the names and addresses of the members of the executive committee;
• if the gift was made out of a trust, the names and addresses of the trustees and the title or other description of the trust fund; and
• the name and address of all persons who made gifts to the candidate.

Importantly, only gifts valued at $500 or more are required to be disclosed and any private gifts are wholly excluded. That is, a gift received by a candidate during the disclosure period for their personal/private use outside of their public capacity will not be required to be disclosed providing that gift is not used in connection to the election.

The campaign return is a public document and is an important feature of transparency and accountability in public office. As such, it is an offence to fail to comply with the requirements of the Act in this regard. Importantly, for current elected members the ‘disclosure period’ commenced 21 days after polling day in November 2014 and for other nominees from the day that they commence their candidature or lodgment of their nomination, whichever is earlier.

If you or your council have any questions with respect to the content of a campaign return or the applicable disclosure period please do not hesitate to contact us.