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FACT SHEET
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT (ELECTORAL
EXPENDITURE AND POLITICAL DONATIONS)
BILL 2013
Concerns have emerged over recent elections that high
spending candidates are able to use their personal wealth to
saturate electorates and gain election by means of their
spending power. Caps on donations and a new requirement
for real-time disclosure of donations should alleviate these
concerns.
This Bill amends the Electoral Act:
to set a limit of $75,000 per candidate on individual
expenditure for House of Assembly elections;
to set a cap on party expenditure of $750,000 for House
of Assembly elections;
to provide for the Electoral Commission to determine the
form of the Register on which all political donations to
parties, candidates and elected members are to be
recorded and determine a form to provide for disclosure
within 14 days (`immediate disclosure') of one-off or
accumulated political donations from a single source to a
total of $1500 or more within a financial year; and verify
the information provided in the `immediate disclosure'
and the Register, and correct it if necessary
and to prohibit anonymous donations to individuals and
parties over a total of $1500.
A Consultation Paper was released in 2012 seeking feedback on
these and other reforms. The reforms here did not create any
controversy during the consultation.