This information booklet is designed to assist intending candidates for Tasmanian House of Assembly elections.
At the 2020 Legislative Council elections, a possible breach of section 196 of the Act in a single Facebook post (where a candidate was mentioned without their consent) was brought to the attention of the Electoral Commissioner. After investigating the matter and referring it to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director advised there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and that he would not prosecute the matter.
In light of the process arising from this complaint and the advice received on this matter, the Electoral Commissioner noted the following:
Electoral Commissioner's statement
The Electoral Commissioner has an important role to encourage and enforce compliance with all electoral laws and to review and respond to possible breaches. Therefore, while I will continue to ask individuals to refrain from actions that may breach section 196 of the Act, I am currently of the view that some publications on social media, including those in the nature of the Facebook post in question, are not likely to present a sufficiently compelling case to seek the commencement of criminal prosecution. However, I will continue to consider each case on its merits.
Nominations may be lodged after the Issue of the Writ, and before the close of nominations. For the 2018 elections, nomination forms can be lodged from 9am Tuesday 6 February.
It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that the nomination form and the $400 deposit are received by the returning officer (also the Commissioner for party nominations) before the close of nominations 12 noon Tuesday 13 February 2018.
For the 2018 House of Assembly elections, your nomination form and deposit can be lodged with the Returning Officer at the following locations:
For the 2018 House of Assembly elections, the Returning Officers are:
Nominated by a party
The party nomination form enables a registered party to nominate its candidates for a division. The party nomination form includes two parts, which must be completed and lodged:
Nominated by a group
The group nomination form enables candidate(s) who wish to appear as a group on a House of Assembly ballot paper, to be nominated. The group nomination form includes three parts, which must be completed and lodged:
Individual nominations
The Individual Nomination form enables you to be nominated as an ungrouped candidate for election to the House of Assembly. The individual nomination form includes two parts, which must be completed and lodged:
For Tasmanian Parliamentary elections, campaign material must be authorised between the issue of the writ and the close of poll. Campaign material must not contain an image or name of another candidate without their consent. See the Candidate's Handbook for more details about these and other conditions that apply.
Electoral Commissioner's policy on electoral matter on the internet
The Electoral Act 2004 and other up-to-date Tasmanian Acts and Regulations can be accessed on-line at Tasmania's legislation online.
Under section 191(1)(b) of the Electoral Act 2004, all electoral matter published on the internet between the issue of the writ for an election and the close of poll at that election must contain the name and address of the responsible person at the end.
Address means a street address (not a post office box or an electronic address) at which the responsible person resides or can be readily contacted.
Responsible person means the person taking responsibility for causing electoral matter to be published.
Electoral matter means matter which is intended or likely to affect voting in an election.
The Electoral Commissioner recommends that candidates and other persons with websites (including ‘Facebook’ pages) containing electoral matter should ensure that the name and address of the responsible person appears on each page.
For example, an appropriate place to include authorisation on a website would be on a footer, or on ‘Facebook’ at the end of a post that contains electoral matter.
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