Local government election participants

Agent

A person responsible for ensuring an election participant’s obligations under the Local Government Electoral Act 2011 are complied with. An agent is required by law for some election participants, and is appointed by the participant.

Associated entity

An entity that does any of the following:

• is controlled by a registered party (or candidates endorsed by the party), candidate, or group of candidates
• operates wholly or to a significant extent for the benefit of a registered political party, candidate, or group of candidates
• operates for the dominant purpose of promoting a registered political party, candidate, or group of candidates.

Ballot draw

A Returning Officer conducts a public ballot draw after the close of nominations for an election to determine the listed order of candidates on the ballot paper.

Campaign purpose

Expenditure is incurred for a campaign purpose if it is used to:

• promote or oppose a registered political party or group of candidates for an election
• promote or oppose the election of a candidate
• Otherwise influence voting at an election.

Candidate

A person who meets any of the following criteria :

• is elected or appointed councillor at any time during the disclosure period
• has announced or otherwise publicly indicated an intention to be a candidate in an election
• has otherwise indicated their intention to be a candidate in the election, including, for example by accepting a gift made for the purpose of an election
• has had their nomination as a candidate for an election certified by a returning officer.

Capped expenditure period

The capped expenditure period starts on:

• for the 2024 local government elections – 14 August 2023
• for a by-election – the day the notice for the election is issued.

The capped expenditure period ends at 6pm on election day.

Close Associate

For the purposes of candidate nomination, a person is a close associate of a candidate if the person is any of the following in relation to the candidate:

• a spouse
• a partner in a partnership
• an entity, other than a government entity, for which the candidate is an executive officer or board member.

For the definition of a close associate relating to a prohibited donor, refer to the definition of Prohibited donor.

Compliance review

An audit of election funding and disclosure   matters by the ECQ  to monitor electoral participants’ compliance with their  obligations under the Local Government Electoral Act 2011. Electoral participants may be contacted up to 5 years after an election to provide information relating to a funding and disclosure matter.

Dedicated campaign bank account

A single account with a financial institution that must be operated by an election participant for only the following purposes in relation to a local government election campaign:

• to pay all electoral expenditure
• to pay other campaign expenses relating to the election (for candidates and groups of candidates)
• to receive all gifts and loans (for candidates and groups of candidates).

Account details must be disclosed to the ECQ. Dedicated campaign bank accounts may be subject to compliance reviews up to 5 years after the election.

The use of a credit card to pay for electoral expenditure is prohibited, as is using funds from the dedicated campaign bank account to pay for a charge incurred on a credit card.

Disclosure

The reporting of information to the ECQ in relation to gifts, loans and/or electoral expenditure by election participants.

Disclosure periods

The period in which election participants are required to make financial disclosures to the ECQ for gifts and loans made or received, or electoral expenditure incurred. The disclosure period for all election participants ends 30 days after election day for the election, with disclosure periods starting on the following:

Groups of candidates and registered political parties: 30 days after election day for the last quadrennial election.

Candidates: if they were a candidate in an election held within 5 years before election day for the election, the disclosure period starts 30 days after election day for the most recent election.

If they were not a candidate in an election held within 5 years before election day for the election, the disclosure period starts on the earliest day of the following for an election:

• they announce their intention to be a candidate
• they otherwise indicate their intention to be a candidate (e.g. by accepting a gift for the purpose of the election)
• they nominate as a candidate.

Third parties: for gifts or loans to or from third parties for election purposes, the disclosure period starts 30 days after election day for the last quadrennial election.

For electoral expenditure incurred by third parties, the disclosure period starts on the same day as the capped expenditure period for the election.

EDS

Refer to the definition of the Electronic Disclosure System.

Election day

The polling day for an election. Polling places open at 8am and close at 6pm on election day. Counting of the votes commences at 6pm.

Election material

Anything that can or intends to:

• influence an elector in relation to voting at the election, or
• affect the result of an election.

This includes all election material printed, published, distributed or broadcast, for example any advertisement, handbill, pamphlet, notice or social media post.

Election participant

Any of the following in an election: a candidate, a group of candidates, a registered political party that endorses a candidate, an associated entity, a registered third party, or an unregistered third party that incurs electoral expenditure.

Election period

An election period for an election starts upon public notice of the election and ends at the close of polls on election day.

Election summary return

All election participants must complete an election summary return, containing details of all gifts, loans or expenditure, via the Electronic Disclosure System and lodge it with the ECQ within 15 weeks after election day.

Electoral advertising

Electoral or political advertising is any advertisement which advocates a vote for or against a candidate, group of candidates, or a registered political party. Under the Local Government Electoral Act 2011, candidates, groups of candidates and campaigns must adhere to the provisions relating to electoral advertising during an election period.

These provisions include: requirements for authorisation to be printed clearly on electoral materials, regulations relating to where signage can be placed in support of a local government campaign, procedures for the acceptance of how-to-vote cards by the ECQ and offences such as misleading electors or publishing false statements about the personal character or conduct of a candidate, with the intent to influence the outcome of an election.

Electoral expenditure

An expense incurred, including a gift-in-kind, for a campaign purpose, regardless of when the expense is incurred. Electoral   expenditure includes:

• costs of designing, producing, printing, broadcasting, or publishing any kind of material for an election including (but not limited to):
  • advertisements broadcast at a cinema, on radio or television or on the internet
  • direct marketing through the post office or email
  • flyers, billboards, brochures, signs, or how-to-vote cards
• distribution costs for election material such as the cost of postage, couriers, or sending SMS messages
• costs of opinion polling or research
• fees for contracted services related to an activity mentioned above (e.g., payments for experts or consultants, the provision of data, etc.).

Electoral expenditure is incurred at the time when the goods or services are provided. For example, expenditure on advertising is incurred when the advertisement is broadcast, published or posted online and expenditure on election material is incurred when the material is distributed.

A third party incurs electoral expenditure for an election if the dominant purpose for that spending is a campaign purpose.

Note: ‘Electoral expenditure’ differs from ‘Political expenditure’. Refer to the definition of Political expenditure for details.

Electoral expenditure caps

Limitations (caps) on the amount of electoral expenditure that can be incurred during the capped expenditure period for a local election.

For Brisbane City Council, the caps are set by legislation. For all other local government areas, the caps vary on a sliding scale by reference to the number of electors in the local government area.

Electronic Disclosure System (EDS)

The online portal through which election participants with disclosure obligations should lodge their real-time, periodic and post-election summary disclosure returns.

The EDS can be accessed via the ECQ website or at https://disclosures.ecq.qld.gov.au/.

Endorsed candidate

A candidate for a local government election who is endorsed by a registered political party.

Expenditure return

Candidates, groups of candidates, registered political parties, associated entities and third parties who incur electoral expenditure of $500 or more must provide a real-time expenditure return to the ECQ. The return must be submitted via the Electronic Disclosure System (EDS) by the disclosure due date for the return, and state:

• the name and business address of the person who supplied the goods or service to which the expenditure relates
• a description of the goods or service
• the amount of the electoral expenditure
• when the expenditure was incurred, and
• the purpose for incurring the expenditure.

An election summary return states the total amount of electoral expenditure the election participant incurred during the disclosure period for the election together with a copy of a bank statement with their summary return. Refer to the definition of Election summary return.

Fundraising contribution

A fundraising contribution is an amount paid by a person as a contribution, entry fee or other payment to entitle the person or another person to participate in, or otherwise obtain a benefit from a fundraising venture or function.

Examples of a fundraising contribution include:

• an amount paid for a raffle ticket
• an amount paid for an item at a fundraising auction.

Gift

The transfer of money, property or a service given without receiving something of equal or adequate value in return.

A non-monetary gift (or gift-in-kind) is a gift of any goods or services other than money.

A gift includes:

• money given to an election participant
• services provided at no or below cost
• electoral expenditure gifted to an election participant
• uncharged interest, or an amount forgiven, on a loan (refer below for further information)
• the part of a fundraising contribution that exceeds $200.

A gift does not include:

• property transferred under a will
• a fundraising contribution of $200 or less, or the first $200 of a larger fundraising contribution
• membership fees paid to a registered political party
• a compulsory levy imposed on councillors under their registered political party’s constitution
• an amount transferred from an individual’s own funds (e.g., from a personal bank account) to the individual’s own dedicated campaign bank account
• an amount contributed from an account an individual holds jointly with their spouse (this does not include amounts given to the spouse by a prohibited donor) to the individual’s own dedicated campaign bank account
• volunteer labour, or incidental or ancillary use of a volunteer’s vehicle or equipment
• gifts made in a private capacity for an individual’s personal use unless the gift is used for an electoral purpose.

Gift-in-kind

A gift of any good or service other than money.

Gift threshold amount

The amount at which gifts must be disclosed in real-time, that is $500. This may be one gift or loan (other than from a financial institution) or the sum of multiple gifts or loans.

Group campaign activity

Any of the following activities carried out by 2 or more candidates in an intentionally coordinated way:

• using a common platform to promote the election of the candidate, including for example, the same political policies
• candidates using the same advertisements, including: pamphlets, billboards and any other media; the same campaign slogans, the same brands or images, the same how-to-vote cards; and other election material that promotes the election of the candidates
• participating in the same fundraising activities or events
• sharing the same resources for election campaigns, including human resources (other than volunteers) between the candidates
• giving or sharing gifts or loans between the candidates.

Only candidates who are members of a group of candidates and candidates who are endorsed by the same political party may engage in group campaign activities.

Group of candidates

A registered group of 2 or more candidates who plan to contest an election in the same local government area and engage in group campaigning activities in an intentional and coordinated way. Candidates endorsed by a registered political party are not considered to be a group, but may still conduct group campaign activities.

How-to-vote card

A card, handbill or pamphlet that contains a representation or intended representation of a ballot paper, or part of a ballot paper, or:

• For an election where optional-preferential voting applies (i.e. for a single member divided council, or when voting for mayor in all councils):
  • lists the names of any or all candidates with numbers indicating an order of voting preference against the names of any or all of the candidates, or
  • directs or encourages the casting of preference votes, other than a first preference vote.
• For an election where first-past-the-post voting applies (i.e. for an undivided council or multi-member divided council):
  • directs or encourages the casting of a vote for the number of candidates equal to the number of candidates to be elected.

Printed material that does not meet one of these criteria may be election material (see E above in this glossary), but not a how-to-vote card. It is important to note the differences, as the rules for how-to-vote cards differ from other election material. How-to-vote cards distributed during an election period must carry an authorisation and how-to-vote cards authorised for a candidate, group of candidates or political party must have been approved for distribution by the ECQ.

Loan

Any of the following provided by a person or entity, other than a financial institution or by use of a credit card:

• an advance of money
• provision of credit or another form of financial accommodation
• payment of an amount for, on behalf of, or at the request of, an entity, if there is an express or implied obligation to repay the amount
• another transaction that is in effect a loan of money.

Nomination

The process of formally applying to become a candidate for local government election. The nomination period is a period of approximately 2 weeks which takes places approximately 1 month prior to election day. Instructions on how to nominate are published in the Notice of Election.

Notice of Election

Issued to formally notify the community that a local government election will occur on a specific date. A Notice of Election is published on the ECQ website and contains details such as of the nomination process, the timeline for the election and relevant contact details for the ECQ.

Penalty unit

The fine amount for an offence under Queensland state legislation and the laws of local governments is identified as a penalty unit. Queensland's Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2015 defines the dollar value of a penalty unit and is subject to a yearly review by the State Treasurer. The penalty unit value in Queensland is $161.30 (current from 1 July 2024).

Periodic disclosure

The disclosure summary that registered political parties and associated entities are required to lodge with the ECQ on a 6-monthly basis. This is lodged via the Electronic Disclosure System.

Political advertisement

An advertisement that advocates a vote for or against a candidate, group of candidates or registered political party. Refer to the definition of Electoral advertising.

Political expenditure

Political expenditure includes any of the following:

• electoral expenditure,
• a gift made to or for the benefit of:
  • a political party
  • a candidate for an election
  • a group of candidates for an election, a member of the group or a person acting on behalf of the group
• a gift made to another person on the understanding that the person, or another person, uses the gift (directly or indirectly) to incur expenditure mentioned above.

Note: ‘Political expenditure’ differs from ‘Electoral expenditure’. Refer to the definition of Electoral expenditure for details.

Political party

Refer to the definition of Registered political party.

Prohibited donor

A prohibited donor is any of the following:

• a property developer
• a close associate of a property developer
• an industry representative organisation, a majority of whose members are property developers.

A property developer is a corporation engaged in a business that regularly involves the making of relevant planning applications by or on behalf of the corporation:

• in connection with the residential or commercial development of land, and
• with the ultimate purpose of the sale or lease of the land for profit.

A close associate of a property developer means:

• a related body corporate of the property developer
• a director or other officer of the property developer
• a person with more than 20% of the voting power of the property developer or a related body corporate
• a spouse of a person described above
• if the corporation or a related body corporation of the corporation is a stapled entity in relation to a stapled security – the other stapled entity in relation to the stapled security
• if the corporation is a trustee, manager or responsible entity in relation to a unit trust - a person who holds more than 20% of the units in the trust
• if the corporation is a trustee, manager, or responsible entity in relation to a discretionary trust - a beneficiary of the trust.

Real-time disclosure

Real-time disclosure is the legislated requirement for the disclosure of gifts, loans and electoral expenditure to the ECQ within 7 business days of the gift or loan being received or the expenditure incurred. In the last 7 business days prior to election day, the real-time requirement is reduced to within 24 hours of the gift or loan being received or the expenditure being incurred by some election participants.

Registered political party

A political party that is registered in Queensland under the Electoral Act 1992 and appears on the ECQ’s Register of Political Parties.

Relevant details of a gift of loan

Each real-time return must include the relevant details of the gift or loan. This includes, but is not limited to:

• the value of the gift or loan
• the date it was made
• the name and address of the donor
• whether the donor has an interest in a local government matter (and if so, the nature of the donor’s interest)
• the name and relevant details of the original source of the gift or loan (if applicable).

Returns for loans must also include the terms of the loan.

Self Service Portal (SSP)

The ECQ’s online system for nominating as a candidate for local government election, citizens to disclose gifts or donations, and third party registration.

The Self-Service Portal can be accessed via the ECQ website www.ecq.qld.gov.au after the Notice of Election has been published.

Source of a gift or loan

If someone makes a gift or loan to another person for the main purpose of enabling the recipient to make a gift or loan to a candidate or other election participant, the first person is referred to as the ‘original source’ of the gift or loan.

Third party

An individual or an entity who makes gifts to election participants or conducts campaign activities, but is not:

• a political party, an associated entity or a candidate
• a person who is a member of a committee for the election of a candidate endorsed by a registered political party, if the committee is part of the political party, or
• a person who is a member of a committee for the election of a candidate in the election or members of a group of candidates for the election