Electoral expenditure - Legislative Council elections - Electoral disclosure and funding Tasmania

Electoral expenditure – Legislative Council

Electoral expenditure is legislated by the Electoral Disclosure and Funding Act 2023 from 1 July 2025. Largely, the legislative requirements remain the same or similar as in the Electoral Act 2004 which had previously set the requirements – such as making an election campaign return, or expenditure limits – for electoral expenditure in Legislative Council elections.

The Electoral Disclosure and Funding Act 2023 uses two terms for expenditure in Legislative Council elections – “electoral expenditure” which is a general term (with specific meaning for House of Assembly elections), and “election expenditure” which is specifically defined by the Act.

What is election expenditure

Election expenditure is expenditure that:

relates to promoting or procuring the election of the Legislative Council member or candidate, and
is incurred by, or with the authority of, the member or candidate within the election campaign period.

This includes expenditure for goods or services which are to be supplied to, or made use of by, the candidate (or with the candidate’s authority) during the election campaign period.

The election campaign period for a Legislative Council periodic election begins on 1 January in the election year, and ends thirty days after polling day. The election campaign period for a Legislative Council by-election begins on the day the seat of the member becomes vacant, and ends thirty days after polling day.

Election expenditure does not include:

the personal and reasonable living and travelling expenses of the member, the candidate or their official agent
the renting or hiring of premises for the purposes of the campaign
the appointment of scrutineers, or
the conveying of electors to and from polling places for the purpose of voting.

Who can incur election expenditure

Only a member, a candidate or their official agent can incur election expenditure to support the member or candidate’s re-election or election to the Legislative Council. A member or candidate must not authorise anyone other than their official agent to incur election expenditure on their behalf.

This means that registered parties, associated entities and third-party campaigners must not incur election expenditure for a Legislative Council election. They may still make political donations to Legislative Council members or candidates.

When is election expenditure incurred

Election expenditure is incurred when either the purchased services are actually provided, or goods are actually delivered. These are examples of when election expenditure is incurred:

expenditure on advertising is incurred when the advertising is broadcast or published
expenditure on the production and distribution of campaign material is incurred when the material is distributed, and
expenditure on the employment of staff is incurred during the period of their employment.

It’s important to note that the date on an invoice or receipt for election expenditure may not be the date that the expenditure is actually incurred.

Expenditure limits

All members and candidates in a Legislative Council election have a limit on their electoral expenditure during the election campaign period. At the commencement of the Electoral Disclosure and Funding Act 2023 on 1 July 2025 the expenditure limit is $19,500 and increases by an additional $500 every calendar year.

Calendar year	Expenditure limit
2025 (from 1 July only)	$19,500
2026	$20,000

A member or candidate’s total electoral expenditure is any election expenditure they have incurred, plus any election expenditure incurred by their official agent in relation to the member or candidate.

Make an election campaign return to disclose electoral expenditure incurred in a Legislative Council election.

Disclosure and funding