Funding for independent elected members

We have updated this page after changes to the Electoral Act 2002. These changes refer to rules about funding and donation disclosure. 

Read this information carefully. Your legal duties have changed under the new laws.

For further information, see our page about the 2026 Electoral Act amendments.

On this page:

What is administrative expenditure funding

Administrative expenditure funding is public money we pay to independent elected members who are not part of any political party. Independent elected members can use this funding to pay for the everyday costs for running offices for elected members. These costs include:

  • managing or administering your activities
  • conferences, seminars, or meetings where you discuss or develop policies
  • auditing your financial accounts or complying with funding and disclosure obligations
  • the part of staff wages that relates to running your office, policy meetings and events, or audit and compliance tasks
  • equipment or vehicles staff use while doing eligible work
  • rent or accommodation costs for the staff and equipment listed above
  • interest paid on loans.

Read our determination for more information on what you can use this funding for.

You cannot use administrative expenditure funding for costs:

  • related to a state election campaign (political expenditure or electoral expenditure)
  • covered by a parliamentary allowance
  • for electing members to Parliament outside of Victoria
  • that you can claim from any credit, rebate, refund, reimbursement or reduction in tax liability under any law
  • for personal purposes.

Administrative expenditure funding must not be paid into your state campaign account.

Who is eligible for administrative expenditure funding?

You are eligible to receive administrative expenditure funding if you are an independent elected member in the Victorian Parliament.

Who is not eligible for administrative expenditure funding

You are not eligible for administrative expenditure funding if you are not elected to the Legislative Assembly (lower house) or the Legislative Council (upper house).

Funding amounts

Administrative expenditure funding is a fixed annual amount that we pay quarterly. The amount is calculated each day based on the number of days you are eligible for funding. The funding entitlement starts on the day you are elected to Parliament.

Funding amounts are indexed annually according to the consumer price index.

View the current funding amounts

Applying for administrative expenditure funding

You or your agent must apply for administrative expenditure funding.

Note: we are updating the application form. Please contact us at disclosures@vec.vic.gov.au if you have questions.

The due date for funding applications is different for election years and election periods.

  • New parliamentary term. As soon as possible after the start of an election period and no later than 31 December
  • Election year. by 1 July in the year of a state election. You must tell us if you plan to run in the next general election
  • Leaving a political party. As soon as you are no longer an endorsed elected member.

If you do not submit your application by the relevant due date you will not receive any funding. We will not make any payments until the request is made to us. Your entitlement to receive funding will not be affected.

The form will ask you to acknowledge that:

  • any unused administrative expenditure funding must be repaid to us
  • administrative expenditure funding:
    • cannot be paid into any state campaign account
    • cannot be used for political expenditure or electoral expenditure (these are costs related to election campaigns)
    • cannot be used for costs that are covered by parliamentary allowance
    • can only be used to elect members to Victorian Parliament.

Changes in membership

If you resign from Parliament, the funding will decrease for that quarter. You must notify us of this change within 28 days and must repay any funds paid.

If you join a party and no longer sit as an independent elected member, the party you join will be eligible for administrative expenditure funding, not you individually.

When are payments made?

We pay this funding quarterly in advance. For example, we will make the January to March quarter (Q1) payment by the end of December (Q4).

During a state election, we make advance payments from the beginning of the quarter to the day of the election. For example, for the 2026 state election we will make payments from 1 October (Q4) until 28 November 2026.

In January, after a state election, we will:

  • pay you for the first quarter of that calendar year (January to March, Q1)

    and

  • pay the outstanding balance from the day after the election until the end of the previous quarter. For example, after the 2026 state election we will pay the outstanding balance from 29 November to 31 December 2026.

Annual returns

Recipients of administrative expenditure funding during a calendar year must submit an annual return to us for that year.

The return must specify the amount you spent on administrative costs for that year. It must specify if this is equal, less or more than the funding entitlement you received during the year. If you spent less than the amount of funding you received from us, you must repay the difference.

You can only claim expenses for the same calendar year and during the funding eligibility period. You cannot carry expenses forward or save unused funding for later years.

An annual return comprises 2 documents:

  • Annual return form. This form shows the administrative costs you have paid in the calendar year. You or your registered agent must sign it.
  • Audit certificate. An independent auditor must audit your annual return. You must submit the audit certificate to us with your statement. Auditors must use our certificate template in accordance with the VEC's Determination.

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

The form must be submitted by 22 April each year. Returns for 2026 are due on 22 April 2027.

You or your agent must submit a complete annual return for administrative expenditure funding by the due date. If you do not, we will assume you have no claimable administrative expenses for that year. The party must then repay all administrative expenditure funding it received for that calendar year.

Penalties

Penalties can apply for not complying with obligations related to administrative expenditure funding. This includes where administrative expenditure funding:

  • is paid into any of your state campaign accounts
  • is spent on:
    • political or electoral expenditure
    • expenses covered by parliamentary allowance, or
    • to elect someone to a non-Victorian parliament.

The penalty amount is twice the payment amount. For example, Party B spends $2,000 of administrative expenditure funding on an ad campaign for a state election. They must pay us $4,000 in penalties.

There is also a penalty of 300 penalty units or 2 years' imprisonment for making a false or misleading statement in a return. Penalties also apply for failing to submit an annual return.