Parties and Candidates
Local Government Council Elections – Update
The next periodic local government council elections will now be held in April 2027 (previously scheduled for November 2026).
Public inspection of returns
👉 For information about disclosure obligations, see disclosure requirements for council candidates.
Under Part 14 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999, the returning officer must publish campaign donation returns within the required timeframes.
Campaign donation returns and gift returns for each candidate are available on the candidate’s profile on the council elections results site.
This link will take you to the results site. Select a candidate's profile and use the blue button beside each return to view it.
Records
Under the record-keeping provisions of the applicable electoral legislation, a person must keep all records needed to complete a return for 4 years after the return is due.
Maximum penalty: $5,000.
Offences
It is an offence to:
- fail to lodge a required return on time
- lodge a return that is knowingly false or misleading
- provide false or misleading information for inclusion in a return
Maximum penalty: $10,000.
More information
For full legislative requirements, refer to:
- Local Government (Elections) Act 1999, Part 14
- Local Government (Elections) Regulations 2025, Regulation 16
- City of Adelaide Act 1998, Part 8
- City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025, Regulation 6
Disclaimer: The information provided above is general in nature. Candidates and others should refer to the specific wording of the Act and Regulations and seek independent legal or other advice on any issues of interpretation that may arise.
Part 13A of the Electoral Act 1985 allows compliance audits to be undertaken for the purpose of finding out whether participants have complied with the Part.
Following the amendments introduced by the Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Act 2024, what was previously referred to as 'special assistance funding' is now termed 'administrative funding.' This form of public funding is provided under Division 5 of the Electoral Act 1985.
👉 Learn more about administrative funding for registered political parties and independent members of parliament.
Historical overview of special assistance funding
Prior to the amendments introduced by the Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Act 2024, public funding provided under Division 5 of the Electoral Act 1985 was known as special assistance funding.
Under this scheme, claims were subject to the following maximum indexed amounts:
- Up to 5 members of parliament: $35,000
- 6 or more members of parliament: $60,000
Between 2015 and 2024, the Electoral Commissioner paid special assistance funding to eligible parties in accordance with these limits. The table below outlines the amounts paid to various parties during that period.
Note: As of 2024, this funding is now referred to as administrative funding, reflecting changes made under the Amendment Act.
| Australian Labor Party | Liberal Party | The Greens | SA Best | Advance SA* | Dignity Party** | Family First^ | Australian Conservatives^^ | Pauline Hanson's One Nation | |
| Date | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ |
| 1/07/24 - 31/12/24 | 78,840.00 | 78,840.00 | 45,990.00 | 35,356.67 | - | - | - | - | 15,176.61 |
| 1/01/24 - 30/06/24 | 75,586.00 | 75,586.00 | 44,092.00 | 37,773.10 | - | - | - | - | 17,748.43 |
| 1/07/23 - 31/12/23 | 75,586.00 | 75,586.00 | 44,092.00 | 36,780.61 | - | - | - | - | 15,387.59 |
| 1/01/23 - 30/06/23 | 70,048.00 | 70,048.00 | 40,862.00 | 36,601.34 | - | - | - | - | 20,045.00 |
| 1/07/22 - 31/12/22 | 70,048.00 | 70,048.00 | 40,862.00 | 35,993.43 | - | - | - | - | 11,122.39 |
| 1/01/22 - 30/06/22 | 66,908.00 | 66,908.00 | 39,030.00 | 27,901.55 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/07/21 - 31/12/21 | 66,908.00 | 66,908.00 | 39,030.00 | 39,030.00 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/01/21 - 30/06/21 | 66,109.00 | 66,109.00 | 38,564.00 | 38,564.00 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/07/20 - 31/12/20 | 66,109.00 | 66,109.00 | 38,564.00 | 29,071.53 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/01/20 - 30/06/20 | 64,568.00 | 64,568.00 | 37,665.00 | 37,665.00 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/07/19 - 31/12/19 | 64,568.00 | 64,568.00 | 37,665.00 | 37,665.00 | 952.04 | - | -; | - | - |
| 1/01/19 - 30/06/19 | 63,711.00 | 63,711.00 | 37,165.00 | 37,165.00 | 219.24 | - | - | - | - |
| 1/07/18 - 31/12/18 | 63,711.00 | 63,711.00 | 37,165.00 | 37,165.00 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1/01/18 - 30/06/18 | 62,283.00 | 62,283.00 | 36.333.00 | - | - | - | - | 36,333.00 | - |
| 1/07/17 - 31/12/17 | 62,283.00 | 62,283.00 | 36,333.00 | - | - | 36,333.00 | - | - | - |
| 1/01/17 - 30/06/17 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 35,000.00 | - | - | 29,672.00 | - | - | - |
| 1/07/16 - 31/12/16 | 12,217.00 | 12,217.00 | 7,127.00 | - | - | 7,127.00 | 6,218.39 | - | - |
| 1/01/16 - 30/06/16 | 12,217.00 | 12,217.00 | 7,127.00 | - | - | 7,127.00 | 4,403.19 | - | - |
| 1/07/15 - 31/12/15 | 12,137.00 | 12,137.00 | 7,080.00 | - | - | 7,080.00 | 825.00 | - | - |
| Total | 1,113,837.00 | 1,113,837.00 | 613,413.00 | 466,732.23 | 1,171.28 | 87,339.00 | 11,446.58 | 36,333.00 | 79,480.02 |
| Special assistance paid to date: $3,523,589.11 | |||||||||
| * | deregistered 25 August 2022 |
| ** | deregistered 28 November 2019 |
| ^ | deregistered 27 June 2017 (n.b. a new party called Family First Party Inc. was registered on 13 January 2022) |
| ^^ | deregistered 27 June 2019 |
One-off special assistance funding (Historical - 2017)
Section 130UA of the Electoral Act 1985 was introduced on 9 June 2017 and expired on 31 August 2017. It allowed eligible registered political parties to claim a one-off payment of special assistance funding to cover prescribed administrative expenditure incurred in complying with Part 13A of the Act.
To receive this funding, parties were required to submit a written claim to the Electoral Commissioner by 31 July 2017. The maximum claimable amounts were:
- Parties with 5 or fewer members of Parliament: $56,000
- Parties with 6 or more members of Parliament: $96,000
These payments were made in addition to any half-yearly special assistance funding provided under Division 5 of the Act.
| Party | Claim |
| Australian Labor Party | $96,000.00 |
| Liberal Party | $96,000.00 |
| The Greens | $10,013.79 |
| Dignity Party | $43,861.44 |
| Total | $245,875.23 |