Authorising state election electoral material

You can share your political opinions at any time. That is part of a healthy democracy.

If you are sharing 'electoral material', you must authorise it. We will give examples of what is and is not considered electoral material.

Authorisation requirements exist to:

  • improve transparency by making it clear where election material comes from
  • allow someone to decide how much they value or trust the electoral material.

The authorisation rules and requirements are different between state and local council elections. Learn about authorisation requirements for local council elections.

Electoral material

There are 3 categories of 'electoral material' requiring authorisation:

  • Paid advertisements containing electoral matter
  • Printed material containing electoral matter, including a leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, notice or poster
  • Material produced by or on behalf of registered political parties, candidates and elected members, even if it is not paid or printed.

What is 'electoral matter'?

'Electoral matter' is something that is intended or likely to affect the way someone votes in an election. It can be electoral matter regardless of whether it makes an express reference to the election or voting.

When considering if material is intended or likely to affect the way someone votes in an election, we may consider how close it is to an election.

For example, material shared in the weeks before an election writ is issued is more likely to influence how people vote than material shared earlier in an election cycle.

  • Forms of electoral material

    Electoral material can take any form, including:

    • a leaflet, flyer, pamphlet or notice
    • a billboard, poster or sign
    • a print, digital or online advertisement
    • a social media post or profile
    • a website
    • some electronic communications, such as email or SMS.
  • Exclusions

    Not everything is electoral material. Some material is excluded from the authorisation requirements:

    • small car stickers, lapel buttons, badges, clothing, fridge magnets, pens, pencils and balloons
    • letters or cards where the name and address of the sender or publisher appears, unless they contain a representation of a ballot paper
    • an opinion poll or other research relating to voting intentions
    • a communication for personal purposes
    • an internal communication of a registered political party, candidate or elected member
    • images of excluded items, unless transformed into electoral material
    • material made for academic, artistic, educational or satirical purposes that is not intended or likely to affect voting in an election.

    How-to-vote cards (online or printed, registered or unregistered) are regulated separately. They must contain the name and address of the person who authorised the how-to-vote-card, and the name and place of business of the printer or publisher.

    • Authorisation guidelines

    To authorise something is to include a name and address somewhere visible on the electoral material. That is what forms the 'authorisation statement'.

    The name must be the full or registered name of the person, body politic or body corporate who authorised the electoral material. They can use a name they are generally known by, provided they can be easily identified by the public. An initial and last name can be used for a person.

    An address must be the full street address, not just a suburb, and it cannot be a PO box.

    It doesn't matter if there is an election happening or not, electoral material must always be authorised, all the time.

    Read our determination about the authorisation of electoral material