Matthew: Now we will move on to the focus of today's session, political finances. As we go, remember to use the Q&A function if you have any questions. Regulating political donations is an important part of the VEC's role in protecting Victoria's democracy and safeguarding the integrity and transparency of electoral processes. Our role is to help people and organisations understand and comply with their obligations and take action when the rules are not followed. As candidates and political parties, you'll be receiving political donations and making political expenditure. It is important that you disclose these donations appropriately and keep appropriate records. 

These obligations are laid out, in detail, in the Electoral Act, and we urge you to review the VEC's website at vec.vic.gov.au, where we have published a lot of information in relation to allowed donations and funding. We have also refreshed this information recently to reflect changes made by the Parliament in June. I do want to clarify that the information we provide does not constitute legal advice, an indication of liability, or an exemption from liability for offences under the Act. While the VEC is here to assist, it's your responsibility to make sure you comply with your donation disclosure and reporting obligations under the Act. If you've looked at the information available including on our website, and you are unclear about your obligations, please contact us. 

Depending on the nature of the matter, you may want to consider seeking your own legal advice about complying with your obligations. This is because non-compliance with political finance laws is a serious offence. For example, attempts to conceal a political donation above the disclosure threshold, making or receiving a political donation that is above the general cap or otherwise prohibited, or providing false or misleading information, may result in unlawful donations being forfeited to the State. 

Also, offences in the Act associated with political finance laws are criminal offences. The VEC may seek to investigate and prosecute, and financial penalties and/or imprisonment are available to the courts for the different offences if convicted.  

Danielah: Today we will cover, how you manage your finances using a state campaign account, what political donations are, your obligations to disclose donations and how to do so, prohibited and banned donations, requirements to submit annual returns, record keeping obligations, and Access to funding from the state. We also mention some key financial figures for funding and donations matters. 

Matthew: The first thing to think about is how your finances are managed with a state campaign account. The Electoral Act requires candidates and registered political parties to set up a State campaign account, essentially a specified bank account or accounts, to receive political donations and for political expenditure. This is the central place to manage money associated with state operations and separate this money from other funds used for administration, operations, Commonwealth elections, or other activities.

When setting up your state campaign account, you need to ensure that the account is set up with an authorised deposit-taking institution, such as a bank or credit union; and you may have more than one state campaign account. Whatever arrangements are in place, you need to make sure transactions in your state campaign account can be properly tracked, including if you're audited or are required to report or provide additional information to us.

If you are an independent candidate, we encourage you to set up a separate account to your personal transaction or savings accounts. Also remember, this is your state campaign account. It should not be shared with another entity or person.

Danielah: You are asked to provide the account name, the BSB and the account number for your state campaign account when you register with VEC Disclosures – this is our donation disclosure system which we will talk about later. You can also update these details if they change in VEC Disclosures.

Matthew: State campaign accounts are managed by an agent, who is legally responsible for all funding and disclosure obligations. The responsibility of the agent includes, managing the state campaign account, registering donation recipients in our disclosures platform, ensuring donations are properly disclosed, and other matters relating to political finance obligations such as annual returns. 

If you are an independent candidate, you are automatically the default agent. However, you can appoint someone else as an agent instead of you. In the case of groups of independent candidates running in Legislative Council region elections, the candidate whose name is first on the ballot paper for each group will be the default agent. Again, groups can choose to register someone else to be the agent. The process for registering or changing an agent can be found on our website. 

For registered political parties, including all the party's endorsed candidates, the registered officer of the political party is legally responsible for the political finance obligations, including looking after the State campaign account. The registered officer must be the agent.

Danielah: Political expenditure must be paid out of your state campaign account. This includes any spending used for the purpose of directing how a person should vote at an election. All political donations for state elections, including any small contributions, must be paid into the state campaign account. We note that you may receive donations through multiple channels. For example, some campaigns will use a crowdfunding third-party donation website or payment platform to accept donations. The service may hold the money on your behalf until you request the funds to be released to you. When these funds are paid to you, they must be paid into your state campaign account. Even if you use crowdfunding, third-party donation websites including ticketing websites, or payment platforms, you need to make sure your disclosure obligations are still completed by you and the donor, and that means knowing the name, date, contact details, and the donation amount. 

In the event you are eligible for public funding, and you choose to claim it, this funding must also be paid by the VEC into your state campaign account. You must ensure that you do not pay any other type of state funding, administrative expenditure funding, or policy development funding into your state campaign account. We will talk about these types of funding later in today's session. You must also ensure that any amounts for Commonwealth electoral purposes are not paid into your state campaign account.  

Matthew: Donations are a gift made by one party or person to another party or person. Donations that can be received are not just amounts of money, good or services, or money raised through fundraising events, but also may be benefits in-kind. Examples of these kinds of donations include rent free use of office space, or discounting fees for a service. As noted, donations must be paid into the state campaign account. Our website has further information on what constitutes a political donation, and we encourage you to carefully read this information and other information about your funding and disclosure obligations. Donation obligations apply to both donors and recipients. You are also required to notify your donors of their need to disclose the donation where they have disclosure obligations. 

In addition to putting this information on any websites that you use to raise money, we strongly recommend you provide donors with a receipt that clearly states the donation amount and prompts them to disclose the donation to us, if required. If there is more than one item, the receipt should show each item that makes up the total amount. 

You may also wish to identify a financial advisor or legal advisor who you can call upon as needed to help you meet your obligations. You should also ensure your accountant or auditor is familiar with the requirements of Part 12 of the Electoral Act, so that they can help you comply with the reporting obligations that apply to you.

Danielah: Donation recipients can be any of the following, political parties registered in Victoria, candidates at a Victorian State election, groups of Legislative Council candidates at a Victorian state election, or elected members of the Victorian Parliament. Other entities can also be recipients of political donations in Victoria, and disclosure obligations apply to them as well. These entities include, associated entities operating in Victoria - these entities are organisations that are connected to one or more registered political parties - and third-party campaigners operating in Victoria.

A third-party campaigner is a person or an organisation that receives political donations or spends more than the general donation cap per financial year for the purpose of helping promote or oppose a candidate, elected member or registered political party at an election. A third-party campaigner could be aligned with a registered political party, an independent candidate, or be formed on the basis of an issue or policy that they are advocating for or against. 

These third-party campaigners have the same disclosure obligations as candidates. If you are an independent candidate and you are working with an organisation that is supporting you to get elected, for example, a community group that was formed to identify an independent candidate that they wish to endorse and they are receiving donations and/or incurring political expenditure, please tell them about their obligations and encourage them to contact the VEC and register on VEC Disclosures. These third-party campaigners are a separate entity to you. If they give you money, the same donation rules apply to them as any other donor, including the general cap.

Matthew: We will now talk about the requirement to disclose political donations. There are 3 numbers you need to remember, $1,290, this is the disclosure threshold, $5,190, the general cap, and 21 days, the disclosure timeframe. First, the disclosure threshold. Donations from a single donor of $1,290 or more must be disclosed via our online reporting system, VEC Disclosures. 

The disclosure threshold includes where the same donor makes multiple donations in a financial year, that in aggregate, meet or exceed the disclosure threshold. Contributions you make to your own campaign are donations. As such, where you make a donation equal to or above the disclosure threshold, the donation must be disclosed. Both the donor and the donation recipient have disclosure obligations. You are also required to inform your donors of their obligations. Including information about political donation requirements on donation webpages and in donation receipts and related correspondence with donors are ways of complying with your obligation to inform your donors about their obligations under the Electoral Act.

Danielah: Donation disclosures are managed through our online reporting system VEC Disclosures which can be accessed at disclosures.vec.vic.gov.au. We will talk more about VEC Disclosures shortly. Donations must be disclosed if, the individual donation is equal to or more than the disclosure threshold, the total value of multiple donations from a single donor to a single recipient in a financial year meets or exceeds the disclosure threshold, and a donor has reached the disclosure threshold and makes subsequent donations to a recipient within the same financial year. Each additional donation above the threshold must be disclosed separately.

The amount to be disclosed is the full amount of the donation – you must not deduct the expenses from the disclosed donation amount such as venue hire or fees charged by payment platforms. This also applies to auction items – and the full amount paid for an auction item must be disclosed where the paid amount is above fair market value.

Matthew: The next amount to remember is the general cap. For the 2026 State election, any single donor must not donate more than $5,190 in political donations to a single recipient between 15 April and 28 November 2026. A registered political party and its endorsed candidates and elected members all count as the same recipient for the purposes of the general cap. As such, donors also cannot give more than the general cap in combined donations to a registered political party and its endorsed candidates and elected members. Donors also cannot give more than the general cap in combined donations to members of a group of independent candidates for a Legislative Council region election in the same election period. 

While you must disclose contributions that you make to your own campaign, the general cap does not apply to these contributions. In terms of donors, it is important to note that companies that are related can be considered the same donor for the purposes of political donations. For example, donations from a company and a subsidiary it controls count towards a shared general cap. 

Signs that entities may be related may include the entities having common contact people or contact details, or where they have similar business or trading names. You must be aware of this to ensure that you do not receive donations in breach of the general cap. There are penalties where this occurs which we will discuss shortly. 

Danielah: Donations of $100 or less are considered small contributions, and do not count towards the disclosure threshold or the general cap. However, it is an offence to make or receive multiple small contributions to deliberately avoid the disclosure threshold or general donation cap. These donations still need to be paid into your state campaign account and must be included in your annual returns, so it is important that you put in place arrangements to ensure that you comply with your obligations. 

Matthew: Registered new entrants can receive donations from a single donor up to twice the amount of the general donation cap. For the 2026 State election, this is $10,380. A registered political party is eligible if they have never received public funding for any previous State election, including state by-elections, and have not been eligible to receive administrative expenditure funding or policy development funding during the calendar year they are applying. Independent candidates are eligible if they have never received public funding for any previous state elections, including state by-elections.

Danielah: The VEC will consider an application to register a new entrant within 30 days of receiving an application.  If we approve an application, we will notify the applicant and add their name to the register of new entrants. The ability to receive donations up to twice the general cap amount applies from the registration date. Before this date, the regular general cap applies. Note, the new entrant benefits only apply to the candidate or the registered political party. It does not extend to any groups or entities attached to the party or candidate. More information about how to apply to register as a new entrant is available on our website.

Matthew: Lastly, the final figure to remember is 21 days — this is the timeframe for disclosing donations using VEC Disclosures. Donors must disclose donations within 21 days of making the donation, and recipients must disclose donations within 21 days of receiving them. When multiple donations are made by the same donor, 21 days applies from when the disclosure threshold is reached and each donation must be disclosed separately. Either the donor or the recipient can disclose a donation first in VEC Disclosures; the other side can then either accept or reject the disclosed donation. 

We always recommend that recipients of donations disclose them first so that you can assist your donors to comply with their obligations, and this is because when you disclose the donation first, your donor will receive an email from us asking to confirm the donation. If you disclose close to the 21-day mark or disclose late, this limits the opportunity for your donors to comply with their obligations and puts them at risk of breaching the Electoral Act. 

Danielah: The following information needs to be disclosed, the donor's name and address, and ABN or ACN for organisation donors, the name of the donation recipient, the date of the donation, the type of donation - for example money, service, loan, guarantee, or property, the amount of the donation - we may ask for evidence if the donation was a service or goods like office or equipment hire. The date of the donation is the date you receive a donation. If you use a crowdfunding, third-party donation website including ticketing websites, or payment platforms to collect donations, the date the donation is received is the date that the donation was paid to the third party. This applies even where you do not withdraw this money until a later date. 

Donations that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold are published online. This includes where multiple donations are made that, in aggregate, meet or exceed the disclosure threshold. The published details include the donor's name, suburb and state, the recipient, the date of the donation, and the size of the donation. Where a donor is a silent elector, their suburb and state are not published.

Matthew: You can only accept donations from Australian citizens, residents or registered businesses. Foreign donations are banned, and Anonymous donations of $1,290 or more are also banned. You should have systems and processes in place to ensure that you do not accept banned donations. You are considered to have accepted the donation if you, disclose or reconcile the donation in VEC Disclosures, or fail to refund to the donor the amount of the prohibited donation within a reasonable period of time. It is important for you to note that if you don't take timely action to reject an unlawful donation, we may find that you have accepted the donation in contravention of the Electoral Act. Additionally, accepting donations from a single donor, including multiple smaller donations, that are above the general cap is prohibited. 

if you don't take timely action to reject a donation in excess of the general cap or return it to the donor, we may find that you have accepted the donation in contravention of the Electoral Act. Banned donations or donations above the general cap that are accepted must be forfeited to the state.

Danielah: If you are found to have accepted a banned donation or a donation above the general cap, any public funding you are eligible to be paid will also be reduced by double the breaching amount. For example, if you receive a donation from a foreign donor of $1,000, the original $1,000 foreign donation must be forfeited to the state and your funding amount will also be reduced by $2,000. That is a civil penalty of $3,000, which is before we factor in potential criminal offences and penalties available to the court if convicted.

It is simply not worth it to receive or try to hide a prohibited donation. In the event you have received a banned donation or a donation above the general cap, we recommend that you advise us at the earliest possible time, including of any steps you have taken to remedy it, and that you retain appropriate records.

Matthew: We will talk about annual return obligations for independent candidates. The annual return obligations for registered political parties are different. For party-endorsed candidates, your party's registered officer is responsible for the annual return. We use annual returns to check that electoral participants – including independent candidates, elected members and groups – are complying with funding and disclosure laws. For independent candidates, if you receive donations from a single donor equal to or above the disclosure threshold during a financial year, you must submit an annual return. This includes contributions you make to your own election campaign, and where the same donor has made multiple donations that, in total, meet or exceed the disclosure threshold. Annual returns must be submitted by 20 October each year, and the VEC cannot extend the deadline. While the due date is 20 October, we recommend submitting an annual return as soon as possible.

Danielah: The following matters must be included in an annual return for an independent candidate, the total value of disclosed political donations. This will be based on donations you have declared, so it is important to check that your disclosures are up to date before you start completing your annual return, the total dollar value of all political donations under the disclosure threshold received during the financial year that are not included in the 'Total disclosed political donations', including small contributions, And the number of individual donors that made a political donation under the disclosure threshold for the financial year. There is no requirement for an annual return by an independent candidate to be audited, however, auditing requirements apply to other political participants, including registered political parties.

Matthew: Now, we've mentioned VEC Disclosures a number of times already, but what is it? Any person who makes or receives political donations above the disclosure threshold in Victoria must create an account on VEC Disclosures to disclose donations. If you have been receiving political donations and have not already done so, please register with VEC Disclosures and provide the required information, including your State campaign account details. All donation disclosure obligations and associated annual returns are managed via VEC Disclosures.

If you are an endorsed candidate of a registered political party, your political party's registered officer has the obligation to register you on VEC Disclosures. The registered officer is responsible for disclosing any political donations you receive, and you do not have an obligation to submit an individual annual return.

Danielah: If you are an independent candidate, you must register on VEC Disclosures as an independent candidate. Once registered, you can administer your political donation and annual return obligations yourself, or you may nominate an agent to do so on your behalf. Your donors will also need to register themselves so that they can disclose donations that they make to you. More information, including user guides for VEC Disclosures, is available on our website.

Matthew: You must keep any records related to electoral expenditure, political expenditure, and donations. These records include receipts, bank statements, and other documents necessary to evidence how money has been received and spent. The records must be kept at least 4 years from the following, the election day of the relevant election for any funding you receive from us, the date of an online donation disclosure, or the date you submit an annual return to us. But please note that the records must be made available if the VEC requires them. Additionally, you might wish to keep these records for a longer time for other purposes, such as your tax obligations.

If you are successfully elected, or you receive a certain number of first preference votes, you may be eligible to receive funding. Funding is administered by the VEC, and is distinct from political donations, which are given to you by individuals and organisations. If you are entitled to receive funding, the VEC will contact you after the election to guide you through the application process. There are strict deadlines and reporting requirements that will trigger your entitlement to access the funding streams available to you. If you are endorsed by a registered political party, your funding entitlement will be claimed through your party's registered officer — you cannot access the funding directly through us.

If you are successfully elected to Parliament, you or your registered political party will be entitled to receive administrative expenditure funding, or AEF. AEF is provided to cover the ordinary administrative costs of running an office and cannot be used for campaigning. After the election in November, independent elected members and registered political parties with endorsed members in the Parliament will need to apply to receive AEF. This also applies where you are re-elected. 

We typically pay AEF quarterly in advance, and you or your party will need to submit an annual return every year to maintain your entitlement and so that the VEC can reconcile your payments against your administrative expenditure. This annual return is specific to administrative expenditure and separate to the annual return for donations we discussed earlier. AEF entitlement amounts are indexed each financial year. This year, the 2026 calendar year, independent elected members are eligible to be paid up to $309,470. Registered political parties receive an amount based on the number of endorsed members the party has in the Victorian Parliament.

Danielah: Public funding is a different type of funding, which may be used for electoral campaign costs incurred for a State election. If you are either successfully elected or you receive at least 4% of the first preference votes in your district or region, you will be eligible to receive public funding. The amount you receive is the lower of either an amount calculated based on the number of first preference votes received, or how much money you actually spent on eligible expenditure for the election. After the election, you or your party will need to submit an audited statement of expenditure to make a claim for public funding. At that point, you may also choose to receive public funding in advance instalments, instalment payments ahead of the next state general election. If you do choose to receive advance payments, it is important to note that if you are not eligible for public funding at the next general election, or if your entitlement amount is lower, you will be required to repay the difference. You may also be eligible to receive public funding if you contest a by-election, and this is applied for separately.

A third funding type, Policy Development funding, is only available to registered political parties that have been registered for the whole of the calendar year, and that do not receive, or were not eligible for, the other two funding types during the calendar year. This funding can be used to cover the cost of developing policies and cannot be used for campaigning. You will need to apply to the VEC to receive policy development funding each year if eligible. If you are an endorsed member of a registered political party, please note that we are required to pay funding directly to your party, and not to each party member. We have information, guides and materials for each funding type available on our website, or you can contact us if you have any specific queries.

Matthew: That concludes the deep dive into political finances. If you have any questions, use the Q&A function now. If you're having trouble with the Q&A function, use the link posted in the chat, or email your questions through to candidateservices@vec.vic.gov.au. 

Now if we receive any technical questions today or questions specific to your circumstances, we will respond to you separately on these matters. 

Danielah: Thank you just waiting on some questions. What is the Impact of the changes currently being considered by the Parliament?

Matthew: So, we know that the Parliament is considering changes to the Electoral Act. As it stands the proposed changes have minor administrative impacts on Part 12 which is the political finances that we have been talking about today, and that these do not impact the content of today's presentation. The proposed changes impact other parts of the Electoral Act, and we will provide further information on these impacts, subject to Parliament's consideration of the changes.

Danielah: What are the key changes as a result of Part 12 being reintroduced to the Electoral Act?

Matthew: So, the new Part 12 of the Electoral Act largely maintains the existing arrangements for funding and political donations that were in place previously. But importantly, the laws only apply to donations from the 15th of April 2026. It provides for the new entrance scheme that we discussed during the presentation. There are some changes to the general cap amount and the disclosure threshold. We covered these numbers in the presentation today. And I'll also note that the provisions for nominated entities have been removed and transitional obligations have been included.

Danielah: This question about what to do about donations received prior to the 15th of April? Which probably follows on from that last point.

Matthew: Yeah, so under amendments to the Electoral Act, the new laws only apply to donations made or received from the 15th of April 2026, and you are not required to disclose donations made or received before this date. 

Danielah: The next question, I understand that the new laws had obligations to do things within 30 days. Yes. Of the laws coming into force, or coming into effect, what did this require?

Matthew: So, the new laws have transitional arrangements to cover donations during the period 15 April to 9 June. And this included the requirement to disclose donations made and received during this period by 9 July, and to repay any donations that were received in excess of the general cap. If you believe that you've not complied with these requirements, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible, and please let us know about the steps that you've taken to comply.

Danielah: Just waiting for some questions to come through. We're looking at a screen where the questions might pop up. Do you want to answer it? Great. Okay, let me, for an RPP, so for a registered political party, does policy development funding apply per candidate, that does not get public funding, or for the entire registered political party as a combined entity?

Matthew: Yeah, so with policy development funding, the entire RPP is considered as a combined entity. So if the entity had received funding because of a candidate getting public funding or being eligible for public funding, that would apply for consideration as to whether they're eligible for PDF.

Danielah: Just waiting for some questions. We will respond later if we don't get through them all. If candidates - Another question about donations - If candidates can donate to themselves from their own bank account, how do you know where that money has come from? Do you audit personal accounts?

Matthew: Yeah, so to cover some points from the presentation today, there's an obligation to maintain a state campaign account, and as we've recommended, that state campaign account should be separate to the independent candidate's personal transaction or savings account. We undertake financial year annual returns, so a candidate has an obligation if they meet the thresholds to submit financial year annual returns. It is open to the VEC to undertake audits or make investigations if we've got questions around the accuracy of financial year annual returns or indeed the source of funds that are made available to that candidate.

Danielah: Thanks, Matt. We're just waiting for any other questions. If you think of any questions after today's session, of course, please get in touch with us through the email addresses that have been on the screen today. Does the disclosure portal, VEC Disclosures, ask for phone numbers?

Matthew: Yep, so when you register with VEC Disclosures, you'll be asked to provide your information using an email to associate the account with, and also asks for your phone number. When you disclose donations. You'll also be asked to provide the donor's contact details so that we can get in contact with them to make sure that they also disclose their donation. 

Danielah: If anyone has any difficulty with VEC Disclosures, please also get in touch. We can walk you through that and give you some guidance on your obligations there and how to process the system.

Matthew: I don't think we've got any more questions coming through. So thank you to everyone that's asked questions today. That concludes today's information session.

Danielah: Thanks very much. 

Matthew: As I close, I want to remind you of the key messages from this session. First, open a state campaign account to manage your finances and be aware what the state campaign account can and cannot be used for. Pay close attention to your donation disclosure obligations. Disclose donations above the disclosure threshold within 21 days of receiving the donation and ensure that your donors are aware of their obligations, and don't accept banned donations or donations above the general cap. And lastly, submit an annual return each financial year – annual returns are due on 20 October. Pay close attention also to your funding obligations, including reporting requirements, such as calendar year annual returns for AEF, if you're eligible. 

For more information, download a copy of the Candidate handbook from our website. We are currently putting together the 2026 Candidate handbook which will be published in September, but copies from previous elections are on the website and are a great place to start.

Danielah: If this briefing has raised any questions that were not covered, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us anytime. You can reach us at disclosures@vec.vic.gov.au or by phone on 03 8620 1356, and we are happy to answer any of your questions. 

Matthew: Join us for additional deep dives into topics specific to candidates and parties at the election, at future webinars. View the schedule and register on the VEC website. Thank you again for joining us today.