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Electoral expenditure
Election funding and financial disclosure obligations are regulated by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) (Electoral Act).
Under the Electoral Act, a 'third party' or a ‘significant third party' that incurs ‘electoral expenditure’ may be required to lodge an annual return with the AEC.
Our fact sheet covers:
- financial disclosure and registration obligations that may apply to not-for-profit organisations (third parties and significant third parties) under the Electoral Act, and
- how to make a disclosure as a third party or a significant third party
Disclosure of charities’ electoral expenditure on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Regulations 2022, the ACNC Commissioner is required to include links on the ACNC register to the part of the AEC's Transparency Register which relates to disclosure of a registered charity’s political electoral expenditure. The Transparency Register includes details of a charity’s political donations used for electoral expenditure.
More information
The Human Rights Law Centre has published a guide for not-for-profit organisations on complying with Commonwealth electoral laws.
The content on this webpage was last updated in March 2025 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.