Funding for independent candidates

This page is under review following the passage of the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026. These new laws address political donation disclosures and political funding, auditing and reporting, including how this information is monitored and regulated by the VEC.

What is public funding

Public funding is public money we give to eligible political parties and independent candidates. Independent candidates are not a member of any registered political party.

It helps repay the costs from running a state election campaign.

These costs are called:

These costs may include:

  • office space
  • staffing costs (including time spent setting-up for promotions)
  • equipment (for example IT systems, vehicles, office stationery, etc.)
  • interest charges on loans
  • utilities
  • travel
  • advertising (including production, distribution, publishing, etc.).

You cannot claim costs or expenses not related to campaigning. This means that you cannot claim general administrative costs.

You cannot claim political or electoral costs, you can get a:

  • credit
  • rebate
  • refund
  • reimbursement, or
  • tax reduction under any law.

You cannot use advance public funding payments as security for a loan.

Eligibility

You are eligible to receive public funding if you:

  • received at least 4% of first preference votes, or
  • were elected in a state election.

Who is not eligible for public funding

You are not eligible for public funding if you:

  • are not elected to the Legislative Assembly (lower house) or the Legislative Council (upper house), or
  • did not receive at least 4% of first preference votes.

Funding amounts

The amount you can receive is based on the:

  • amount listed in your audited statement of expenditure
  • number of votes you received
  • maximum legislated amounts.

There are different payment rates for Legislative Assembly candidates and Legislative Council candidates.

Funding amounts are indexed annually in line with the consumer price index.

View the current funding amount

We publish the details of funding paid to recipients since 2018 in our Funding register.

Applying for public funding

You or your registered agent must apply for public funding within 20 weeks after an election, including a by-election.

The application must include:

  • A statement of expenditure report that shows the costs you incurred during your election.
  • An audit certificate template completed by an independent auditor. The certificate must be in the form specified by the VEC. We will not accept any other format.

Note: we are updating the statement of expenditure and audit certificate templates. Please contact us at disclosures@vec.vic.gov.au if you have questions.

If you do not provide a statement of expenditure and audit certificate within this timeframe, you will not receive public funding.

How and when will I receive payments?

We calculate your maximum entitlement based on the number of first preference votes you receive.

If your statement of expenditure shows you spent less than your maximum entitlement, you will receive the amount shown in your statement.

If you spent equal to or more than the maximum entitlement, you will receive the maximum entitlement.

We pay public funding within 30 days of receiving your audited statement of expenditure from the previous election.

Payments must be made into your state campaign account.

If you are contesting the Legislative Council elections as part of a group of candidates, you may choose to split public funding between the candidates.

For more information about splitting public funding between members of a group, emails us at disclosures@vec.vic.gov.au.

Advance public funding

If you receive public funding for a state general election, and you propose to nominate for the next state general election, you are eligible to receive the same amount of funding in advance of the following state general election.

You or your registered agent must apply for advanced public funding within 20 weeks after a state general election.

Advance public funding is paid in 4 instalments:

  • 40% within 30 days of receiving your audited statement of expenditure
  • 20% in April in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of the election period.

Advanced public funding must be paid into your state campaign account.

If advance public funding was paid, we will work out your final entitlement after the election.

We will base this on:

  • the number of first preference votes received by you
  • whether you stood for the Legislative Assembly (lower house) or Legislative Council (upper house)
  • the amount of expenditure declared in your statement of expenditure for that election.

We then compare your entitlement to the amount of advance public funding you received and make any necessary adjustments. This includes if you:

  • were entitled to more funding than was paid in advance, we will pay the difference.
  • received more advance public funding than you were entitled to, you must repay the difference.
  • do not contest the election for which public funding was paid in advance, you must repay the full amount of public funding received.
  • contest the election, but you are not elected or receive at least 4% of first preference votes, you must repay the full amount of public funding received.

Banned donations and funding

If you accept a banned donation, your public funding will be reduced. This includes donations:

  • above the general cap
  • from a foreign donor
  • from an anonymous donor equal to or above the disclosure threshold.

Your funding will be reduced by twice the amount of the breach.

For example, if you receive a donation from a foreign donor of $1,000 we will reduce your funding amount by $2,000. You must also give up the original donation of $1,000 to the VEC.

Penalties

There is a penalty of 300 penalty units or 2 years' imprisonment for making a false or misleading statement to the VEC.