Guidance and education

A key factor in the integrity of local government is ensuring transparency on who has financially supported candidates and councillors. The Inspectorate plays a key role in the current campaign donation reporting system and our work in this area encompasses reactive and proactive work, and guidance and education function and also informs policy change. Campaign donation returns are a record of donations and gifts, including in-kind support, given to a candidate during the donation period. Candidates are required to declare each donation and/or gift received that exceeds the $500 threshold; or declare, on the campaign donation return form, that no donations were received. Persons nominating for council must currently lodge an accurate return to the CEO of council within 40 days after election day. If the return contains false or misleading material, the person lodging the return is guilty of an offence punishable by a fine of up to 60 penalty units. Following a lengthy program of reminders, warnings and, for 15 candidates, prosecution for failing to provide correct returns, the Inspectorate received specific complaints related to two candidates failing to disclose donations received towards campaign advertising costs. The Inspectorate completed an investigation into the two candidates and charged them in April 2019.

A candidate in the 2016 Moreland Council elections received a six month good behaviour bond for non-disclosure of campaign funding at Broadmeadows Magistrates Court on Wednesday 15 May. The Inspectorate alleged that the candidate failed to declare a $3000 gift from the an employees fund, which is associated with his employer. A Moonee Valley Council candidate was charged with two counts of failing to declare donations and after two adjourned hearings, will face court again in March 2020. Proposed reforms to the Local Government Act, supported by Inspectorate work and findings, will introduce tighter restrictions around donation returns and capping on the value of electoral campaign donations and gifts. Planned legislative reforms will see all returns submitted directly to the Chief Municipal Inspector, who will then publish campaign support for all communities’ information. These reforms are expected to vastly improve the immediacy and transparency of campaign funding disclosures, while also allowing the Inspectorate to more swiftly check the veracity of returns during the election period. Importantly, they will provide access to real-time information about outstanding returns, which will assist in actively promoting submission by the 40 day deadline and hopefully reduce resource-intensive compliance action.