Parties and Candidates

Overview

The Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Act 2024 introduced significant reforms to the Electoral Act 1985 (the Act). These reforms, effective from 1 July 2025, aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and fairness in South Australia's electoral system.

Prohibitions on donations and loans

One of the most significant changes introduced by the reforms is the ban on political donations and loans for electoral purposes. This includes monetary contributions, discounted services, or any support intended to influence electoral outcomes.

However, to ensure fairness and support participation, new parties and candidates, defined under the Act as regulated designated participants, may access public funding up to a set amount, provided they meet eligibility requirements such as registration duration, vote thresholds, and evidence of electoral expenditure.

Electoral donations

• Donations to registered political parties, candidates, MPs, and third parties are prohibited. This includes:
  • Monetary contributions.
  • Discounted goods or services.
  • Any other support intended to influence electoral outcomes.

Note: Levies on MP and staffer salaries are exempt.

Electoral loans

Loans are treated as donations and are generally banned. Exceptions apply only in limited cases, such as:

• Loans from a party’s nominated entity.
• Loans not deposited into a campaign account.
• Loans used solely for administrative costs.

Associated entities

If an associated entity receives a loan, it’s treated as if the political party received it, meaning the same rules apply.

Breaches of these provisions may result in penalties, including fines and deregistration of political parties.

Exceptions for regulated participants

While the reforms prohibit most political donations and loans, regulated designated participants may still receive donations and loans within strict limits. These include individual caps of $5,000 per donor or lender per financial year, and aggregate caps tied to expenditure limits during election periods. All donations and loans must be properly disclosed and managed through registered state campaign accounts.

👉 Learn more about donations and loan limits for regulated participants

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Public funding

As part of the electoral reforms, new public funding arrangements have been introduced to support both registered political parties and eligible candidates.

Administrative funding:

• Designed to support the day-to-day operations of eligible political parties.
• Includes one-off and ongoing payments for costs such as office expenses, staff salaries, and administrative systems.
• Strictly limited to non-political use — funds must not be used for campaigning or electoral activities.

👉 Learn more on our administrative funding page

Advance funding:

• Available to parties participating in general or by-elections.
• Allows access to public funding before election results are finalised.
• Subject to:
  • Certification of eligibility
  • Deduction from future entitlements based on actual performance.

👉 Learn more on our advance funding page

Policy development funding:

• Provides up to $20,000 per year (2026 indexed) to eligible parties
• Intended to support activities such as:
  • hosting policy forums, seminars, and meetings.
  • research and analysis for policy creation.
  • Communicating policy ideas to members and supporters.
• Cannot be used for political or electoral expenditure.
• Claims must be submitted to ECSA within 30 days after the end of the calendar year.

👉 Learn more on our policy development funding page

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State campaign accounts

A state campaign account is a dedicated financial institution account that must be used by political participants in South Australian state elections to manage donations, public funding, and political expenditure. These accounts are required for candidates, groups, registered political parties, and third parties*.

* Third parties only need a state campaign account if they receive amounts that must be paid into one under the Act.

👉 Learn more on our state campaign accounts page

Party registration and eligibility

South Australia's electoral reforms have strengthened the requirements for political party registration to ensure transparency and accountability.

Waiting period

Parties must be registered for at least 8 months before becoming eligible for public funding and other entitlements.

Expanded registration requirements

Parties must provide detailed information about:

• Their internal governance structures.
• Membership rules.
• The appointment of a compliance officer.

Ongoing obligations

Any changes to registration details must be reported to the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) within 14 days.

Audit powers

The Electoral Commissioner has the authority to audit party activities and documentation to verify compliance.

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Expenditure regulations

To ensure fairness and prevent excessive spending in South Australian elections, the reforms introduced strict controls on political expenditure.

Expenditure caps

Political parties, candidates, third-party campaigners and groups of candidates in the Legislative Council are subject to maximum spending limits during designated periods. These caps apply to all electoral expenditure, including advertising, promotional materials, and campaign events.

Nominated entities

Nominated entities are prohibited from incurring political expenditure. This ensures that campaign spending is transparent and directly attributable to the party or candidate.

Oversight and recovery

ECSA monitors compliance with expenditure caps. If a party or candidate exceeds the permitted limit, ECSA may initiate recovery proceedings to reclaim overspend public funds.

Capped period

The expenditure limits apply during a defined campaign period, which is set by regulation and varies depending on the type of election.

👉 Learn more on our expenditure caps page

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Third party regulation

Third parties that spend more than $10,000 on political activities must register with ECSA, submit financial returns, and comply with audit requirements.

👉 Learn more about third party obligations

Disclosure and compliance

Disclosure and compliance obligations have been strengthened under the 2024 reforms. Political participants must submit detailed financial returns, including nil returns and audit certificates, and comply with new penalties for non-compliance.

👉 Learn more about disclosure and compliance requirements

Agent and entity oversight

Agents play a key role in ensuring compliance with funding and disclosure obligations. Under the reforms, agents must be registered and may be subject to audits. Nominated and associated entities are also required to follow strict rules around financial reporting and campaign expenditure.

More information:

• Agents
• Nominated entities
• Associated entities

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To be registered in South Australia, a political party must qualify as either:

• a parliamentary party – a party that meets eligibility through an existing member of parliament, or
• a non-parliamentary party – a party with at least 200 members who are enrolled electors.

Parliamentary party eligibility

A party can be registered as a parliamentary party if it has at least one of the following:

• A member of the Parliament of South Australia
• A Senator for South Australia
• A member of the House of Representatives chosen in South Australia.

Application requirements

All applications for registration must be submitted in writing to the Electoral Commissioner of South Australia and must include:

• the party's name and any proposed abbreviation
• the name, contact details and signature of the registered officer, along with general party contact details
• a copy of the party's constitution
• a non-refundable application fee of $500.

Additional requirements for non-parliamentary parties

Non-parliamentary parties must also provide:

• a list of 200 party members who are enrolled electors, including their names and enrolled addresses
• membership declarations (in the form approved by the Electoral Commissioner) completed and signed by each of the 200 members relied upon for eligibility.

Legislative references

For full requirements and conditions, refer to Part 6 of the Electoral Act 1985 (the Act).

Registered political parties must also meet disclosure obligations under Part 13A of the Act. Further information is available on our Funding and Disclosure for Political Parties page.

On this page:

• Definition of a nominated entity
• Eligibility
• Appointment and registration
• Revocation and removal
• Register of nominated entities

Definition 

A nominated entity is an organisation formally appointed by a registered political party to act on its behalf in relation to its financial or administrative activities.

Under the Electoral Act 1985 (the Act), each political party may appoint up to 2 nominated entities, provided they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Act. These criteria relate to the entity's legal status, governance, and its formal relationship with the party.

Eligibility criteria

Under Division 2A of the Act, an organisation can only be appointed as a nominated entity if it meets the eligibility requirements. An entity is ineligible if any of the following apply.

• It is not an associated entity of the political party.
• It is already a nominated entity of another political party.
• The entity, or any of its officers (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001), has been convicted of offences under this Act or under Part 20 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
• The political party has already appointed 2 other nominated entities.

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Appointment and registration process

Under Division 2A of the Act, the appointment of a nominated entity follows a formal process:

• Party's agent provides written notice to the Electoral Commissioner.
• Supporting documents are submitted, including a declaration of eligibility.
• Appointment takes effect once details are entered into the register.

Revocation and removal

• Appointment may be revoked by the party's agent.
• A nominated entity may resign by written notice.
• The Electoral Commissioner must remove an entity if it ceases to be associated or if convictions apply.
• Removal from the register automatically ends the appointment.

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Register of nominated entities

The register is published online by the Electoral Commissioner and includes:

• The name of each nominated entity
• The address of the entity
• The political party it is associated with.

This register promotes transparency and accountability in political party operations, particularly in relation to financial disclosures and campaign expenditure.