Parties and Candidates - Electoral Commission SA

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.

Key requirements

The state campaign account must be established with an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI).
A list of ADIs can be found on the APRA Register of Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions.
Must be registered with the Electoral Commission
- The Electoral Commissioner maintains a register of state campaign accounts and your account must be listed on the register before it can be used.
- Agents are responsible for providing account details, including the name and account number, the agent responsible for the account and any other details required by the Electoral Commissioner.

Money that must be deposited

Public funding payments
Donations received (unless unlawful, not electoral donations or excluded by regulation)
Funds for political expenditure or reimbursement
For mixed-purpose payments, only the portion for political expenditure must be deposited.

Money that must not be deposited

Administrative or policy development payments
Transfers from federal campaign accounts under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

Note: If money is mistakenly deposited, it is not an offence, as long as the agent takes reasonable steps to withdraw it immediately upon becoming aware of the error.

Registers maintained by the Electoral Commissioner
Under the Electoral Act 1985 (the Act), the Electoral Commissioner is responsible for maintaining several official registers. These registers support transparency, accountability, and compliance with electoral requirements.

Register of agents
Records the names and addresses of all appointed agents. Each entry serves as conclusive evidence of appointment. Removal from the register may occur due to resignation, termination, or conviction under the Act.

Register of nominated entities
A publicly accessible list that includes the name and address of each nominated entity, the associated political party, and any other details required by regulation. This register must be published on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Register of political parties
Contains all political parties registered under the Act. The register is available for public inspection, free of charge, during ordinary office hours at the principal office of the Electoral Commissioner.

Register of third parties
Lists all third parties registered under Division 8A of the Act. The register becomes active at the commencement of the capped expenditure period for an election and must be published on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Overview

The Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) provides public, advance, administrative, and policy development funding to support registered political parties, independent members of parliament, candidates, and groups. These payments are indexed annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

👉 View funding and disclosure information specific to political parties.

Electoral reforms

From 1 July 2025, the Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Act 2024 introduced reforms to South Australia’s electoral framework to strengthen transparency, accountability, and integrity in electoral funding and political donations.

To support stakeholders, the Electoral Commission will provide ongoing guidance to assist participants in understanding their obligations under the new legislation; however, independent legal advice is encouraged.

Public funding

Section 130P of the Electoral Act 1985 (the Act) establishes a general entitlement to public funds for:

registered political parties
independent members and candidates, and
groups contesting elections.

The purpose of public funding is to assist with the costs of running a state election campaign or a state by-election.

Important note: Registered political parties are not entitled to public funding until 8 months after their registration.

Key funding streams

Public funding (including advance payments)
Administrative funding (including one-off payments)
Policy development funding.

Eligible political parties, elected members, candidates or groups may submit a claim to ECSA to receive payments under one or more of the available funding streams.

State campaign accounts

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

👉 See state campaign accounts for details.

Qualifying for payment

To qualify for a payment of public funding, candidates and groups must meet minimum vote thresholds.

Candidates

A candidate qualifies for public funding if they:

Are elected, or
Receive at least 4% of the total primary votes in a House of Assembly election, or
Receive at least 2% of the total primary votes in a Legislative Council election.

Groups

A group qualifies if:

At least one member of the group is elected, or
The group receives at least 2% of the total primary votes in a Legislative Council election.

Key definitions:

Eligible vote: First preference vote on a formal ballot paper
Total primary vote: Total number of eligible votes cast in the relevant electoral district.

Funding entitlement

Public funding is calculated per eligible vote and varies depending on the type of participant and their parliamentary status. There are 2 types of entitlements: standard and tapered.

Candidate or group type	Entitlement type	Funding rate (2026 indexed)
Endorsed by a registered political party with at least one MP at dissolution	Standard	$5.50 per eligible vote
Endorsed by a registered political party with no MPs at dissolution	Tapered	$6.00 per vote for first 10% of total primary votes $5.50 per vote thereafter
Independent candidate or group with a sitting MP at dissolution	Standard	$8.50 per eligible vote
Other independent candidates or groups	Tapered	$9.00 per vote for first 10% of total primary votes $8.50 per vote thereafter

Important:

Funding is limited to actual political expenditure incurred.
No payment will be made without satisfactory evidence of political expenditure.

Expenditure caps

Political participants who opt in to the public funding scheme are subject to limits on their political expenditure during the capped expenditure period.

Period: From 1 July in the year before the election until 30 days after polling day.

Participants must not exceed their applicable cap.
Penalties apply for breaches

👉 See political expenditure caps for details.

Reporting political expenditure

Participants who incur more than $5,000 in political expenditure during the capped expenditure period must lodge a capped expenditure return.

Deadline: Within 60 days after polling day.

👉 See reporting political expenditure for guidance.

Administrative funding

Administrative funding (formerly known as special assistance funding) is a form of public funding provided under Division 5 of the Electoral Act 1985. It is paid as a half-yearly entitlement to eligible registered political parties to assist with the reimbursement of administrative expenditure.

Funding is available to parties with one or more members in the South Australian Parliament (House of Assembly or Legislative Council) and independent members of parliament.

👉See administrative funding for details.

Advance funding

Advance public funding is a new initiative introduced under the Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Act 2024. It provides eligible political participants with early access to public funds to support their state election campaigns.

This funding is available to candidates, groups, registered political parties, and independent members who meet specific requirements and lodge the appropriate certificate before polling day. Payments are made in instalments and are calculated based on previous election results or a legislated set amount.

Advance funding is designed to help cover legitimate campaign costs during the capped expenditure period. Strict rules apply to eligibility, timing, use of funds, and repayment obligations.

👉 Learn more on our advance funding overview page.

👉 For detailed information, see:

Policy development funding

Policy development funding provides reimbursement to eligible registered political parties for policy development expenditure incurred in a financial year.

👉 See our policy development funding page for details.

House of Assembly by-election

All participants may apply for public funding in a House of Assembly by-election. Funding is based on the results of the by-election.

If an agent misses the deadline to lodge a section 130PF certificate, they may still be eligible if a section 130Q certificate is lodged within 14 days after polling day.

Period: From the day the vacancy is announced until 30 days after polling day.

Live Local. Lead Local.

Make your mark. Council elections are your opportunity to represent your community.

As a council member, you can help create a future that you and your community can be proud of and enjoy. If you are passionate about your local community, willing to work as part of a team, keen to learn and make a difference, nominate for a position on council. In South Australia, whole of state council elections (called periodic elections) are held every 4 years for all 68 councils except the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs, which operates under its own administration. The next periodic council elections will take place in November 2026.

If an elected position on a council becomes vacant between periodic elections, ECSA may conduct a supplementary election. A vacancy can occur due to death, illness, resignation, or any other circumstances.

Acts and Regulations

The rules that govern council elections are set out in:

The Acts and Regulations should be read in conjunction with the Local Government Act 1999.

Candidate eligibility and ineligibility

You are eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of a council if you are:

an Australian citizen
at the time the electoral roll closes:
- enrolled in the council area you are contesting, or
- the nominee of a body corporate or a group that has its name on the voters roll for the council area
- left off the voters roll for the council area in error.

You are not eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of a council if you are:

a member of an Australian Parliament; or
an undischarged bankrupt or receiving the benefit of a law for the relief of insolvent debtors; or
have been sentenced to imprisonment and are, or could on the happening of some contingency become, liable to serve the sentence or the remainder of the sentence; or
are an employee of the council; or
are disqualified from election by court order under the Local Government Act 1999.

You are not eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of a council if you:

in the case of a supplementary election - are a member of another council; or
in the case of any election - are a candidate for election as a member of another council

Candidate disclosure returns

A person who is a candidate for election to an office of a council must lodge the following returns with the Electoral Commissioner:

A candidate in a Local Government Election, you are required to lodge two campaign donation returns at the times prescribed by the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999
A candidate that receives a gift valued at more than $2,500 (or gifts totalling $2,500 from the same donor) must submit a large gift return within 5 days of receipt of that gift

More information about candidate disclosure returns for recent elections can be accessed via the candidate returns for council elections page.

Candidate responsibilities

As a candidate, you have a range of important responsibilities and obligations under the law. These include making sure all electoral material you publish contains the proper authorisation statement, and that the material is not inaccurate and misleading. All candidates, whether successful or not, must lodge disclosure returns.

Responsibilities as a member of a council

Councils are responsible for many of the services that make South Australia such a great place to live and work, including libraries, playgrounds, sporting facilities and rubbish and recycling. Becoming a councillor or mayor means you will help shape a wide range of policies and decisions that will impact the short and long-term future of your local community. More information can be found on the council elections website (this link goes to an external website).

Electoral advertising

There are restrictions placed on advertising during, and outside of, an election period. These are contained within Part 7 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999. The Electoral Commission SA is unable to provide advice on the interpretation of these provisions. Therefore, if you are in doubt about the interpretation, we recommend you seek independent legal advice.

Learn more on our electoral advertising page.

Forms and handbooks

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State campaign accounts

Registers

Funding and disclosure - all participants

Council elections