The Electoral (Registration of Voters) Amendment Bill and Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Amendment Bill will be debated in Parliament on Thursday.
Under the proposed Electoral (Registration of Voters) Amendment Bill 2026, a Corrupt Electoral Practices List would be established for people convicted of corrupt electoral practices.
The Supervisor of Elections would be required to place a person on the list if they have been convicted of a corrupt electoral practice within the previous four years.
A person could also be placed on the list if the Court of Disputed Returns reports during an election petition that the person is guilty of a corrupt electoral practice.
The list would include the person’s name, voter number, residence and details of the conviction or court report.
A person convicted of a corrupt electoral practice would also be disqualified from registering on the National Register of Voters for four years.
The Supervisor of Elections would have the power to remove from the voter register anyone placed on the list or otherwise disqualified from voter registration under electoral laws.
Meanwhile, the proposed Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) (Amendment) Bill 2026 would introduce campaign expenditure limits of $300,000 for each candidate and $3 million for each political party.
The limits would apply from the first day of the campaign period until 60 days after polling day.
Income pledged or expenditure incurred outside the campaign period for use during the campaign period would also be included when calculating the limits.
Gifts given by candidates or political parties to villages or community groups as protocol to obtain permission to enter their territory would have to be declared and included in campaign expenditure.
The Bill states that such a declared gift would not constitute bribery under the Electoral Act.
Exceeding the campaign expenditure limit would be classified as a corrupt electoral practice.
Candidates would also be required to provide the Registrar with information within 60 days after polling day on the money they received, the amount and source of donations and their campaign expenditure.
The proposed amendments would also allow certain donations that are currently restricted, provided they are declared to the Registrar within 60 days after polling day.
The Registrar would be required to publish the donation declarations on the Registrar’s website.
Both Bills will be debated and voted on in Parliament on Thursday.
