Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
2019-2020-2021
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (POLITICAL CAMPAIGNERS)
BILL 2021
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters,
the Hon Ben Morton MP)
Glossary
The following abbreviations and acronyms are used throughout this Explanatory
Memorandum:
Abbreviation Definition
Bill Electoral Legislation Amendment
(Political Campaigners) Bill 2021
AEC Australian Electoral Commission
Electoral Act Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
Item Refers to an item in the Bill
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
JSCEM Joint Standing Committee on Electoral
Matters
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ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (POLITICAL CAMPAIGNERS)
BILL 2021
GENERAL OUTLINE
The Bill reduces the thresholds for electoral expenditure that can be incurred by an
individual or organisation before they are required to register as a political campaigner.
The amendments are intended to enhance public confidence in Australia's political
processes by aligning transparency requirements for political actors who seek to influence
the outcome of an election to more closely resemble those for political parties, candidates,
and members of Australian Parliament.
The Bill builds on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and
Disclosure Reform) Act 2018 and the Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Act
2017 to improve the consistency of regulation applying to the electoral expenditure by
political actors.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The measures in the Bill are expected to be cost neutral. There will be no significant costs
or savings associated with the Bill.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights has been completed in relation to the
amendments in the Bill. The amendments have been assessed as compatible with
Australia's human rights obligations.
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Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act
2011
Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021
The Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
The Bill amends the registration requirements for political campaigners, by reducing the
electoral expenditure threshold at which registration is mandatory.
Human rights implications
The impact of the Bill on the following rights from the ICCPR has been considered:
the right to freedom of expression under Article 19.
Article 19 - Freedom of Expression
1. The amendment in the Bill engages the right to freedom of expression under Article 19
of the ICCPR, because it requires political campaigners to register from a lower
electoral expenditure threshold. This amendment assists the Australian electorate in
making informed decisions in the conduct of electoral processes, by aligning
transparency requirements for all significant political actors seeking to influence
electoral outcomes.
2. The reduction in the threshold for registration requirements is intended to assist
electors by providing more information about the increasingly complex environment
of political and electoral advocacy. The new threshold of expenditure by an entity or
individual is not insignificant, and targeted localised campaigns have the ability to
affect electoral outcomes.
3. The amendment is unlikely to create significant regulatory or administrative burden for
affected political actors, as any political actor affected by this amendment already has
mandatory disclosure obligations as a "third party" under the Electoral Act, or would
be required to make such disclosures if similar electoral expenditure were incurred in
future.
4. Given that Article 19 of the ICCPR carries special duties and responsibilities, it may
be subject to certain restrictions required by law that, relevantly, are necessary for the
respect of the rights or reputations of others. The proposed limitation on the right to
freedom of expression is proportionate to the legitimate end sought, as transparency,
accountability and public confidence in the political system enables the Australian
electorate to make informed decisions in the exercise of their franchise.
5. The limitation of the right is therefore consistent with Article 19 of the ICCPR.
Conclusion
6. The Bill is compatible with human rights because, to the extent it may limit human
rights, those limitations are reasonable, necessary, and proportionate.
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ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (POLITICAL
CAMPAIGNERS) BILL 2021
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short title
1. Clause 1 is a formal provision specifying the title of the Bill when enacted will be
the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Act 2021 (the Act).
Clause 2 - Commencement
2. Subclause 2(1) provides that the provisions in column 1 of the Commencement
table commence at the time set out in column 2.
3. Clause 1 in the Commencement table provides that the whole Act commences the
day after the Act receives the Royal Assent.
4. A note is inserted below the Commencement table stating that the table relates only
to the provisions of the Act as originally enacted. The table will not be amended to
deal with any later amendments of the Act.
5. Subclause 2(2) provides that information in column 3 of the Commencement table
is not part of the Act. Information may be inserted into column 3, or information in
it may be edited, in any published version of the Act.
Clause 3 - Schedules
6. Clause 3 provides that legislation specified in a Schedule to the Act is amended or
repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other
item in a Schedule to the Act has effect according to its terms.
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Schedule 1 -- Amendments
Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
1. Item 1 omits "$500,000" in subparagraph 287F(1)(a), and substitutes it with
"$100,000".
2. Item 2 omits "$100,000 or more" in subparagraph 287F(1)(b)(i) and substitutes it
with "at least equal to the disclosure threshold".
3. Item 3 replaces "two-thirds" in subparagraph 287F(1)(b)(ii) with "one-third".
4. These amendments are intended to reduce the expenditure threshold at which a person
or entity must register as a political campaigner for a financial year, not including a
member of Australian Parliament or a "political entity" as defined in existing
subsection 4(1) of the Electoral Act. The purpose of this reduction is to assist electors
in making informed choices during the electoral process, by aligning the transparency
of political actors with a significant purpose of influencing elections.
5. These amendments implement Recommendation 18 from the JSCEM Report on the
conduct of the 2019 federal election and matters related thereto, and are unlikely to
create significant regulatory or administrative burden for affected political actors, as
any political actor affected by this amendment already has mandatory disclosure
obligations as a "third party" under the Electoral Act, or would be required to make
such disclosures if similar electoral expenditure were incurred in future. The
additional reporting requirements reflect that organisations which incur electoral
expenditure above the thresholds outlined in Items 1, 2 and 3 are significant political
actors or that electoral expenditure and activity represents a significant component of
the organisation's activity, and should be subject to transparency requirements that
align with their political influence.
6. Item 4 is an application provision that provides that, upon commencement of the Act,
for the purposes of Part XX of the Electoral Act, a reference to "financial years" in
subsection 287F(1) of the Electoral Act includes financial years beginning before the
commencement of the Act. This provision is intended to ensure that financial years
that pre-date the commencement of the Act are not excluded from the effect of the
amendments.
7. Item 4 also has a note that alerts the reader that the effect of Item 4 means that a
person or entity may be required to register as a political campaigner before the end of
90 days after commencement of the Act.
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