The Local Government Inspectorate investigates offences under the electoral provisions of the Local Government Act (2020).
Possible campaign offences are outlined in Part 8 Division 9 – sections 286-310 of the Act. New and returning candidates should familiarise themselves with the below potential campaign offences.
Penalties are shown below in both penalty units and terms of imprisonment.
Part 8 Electoral provisions – Division 9 Electoral offences
| Local Government Act 2020 | ||
| Section | Offence | Penalty |
| 286 | Nomination of a person not qualified to be a candidate or not capable of becoming a councillor | 240 pu; 2 years |
| 287(1) | Printing, publishing or distributing electoral material without authorising person’s name and address | 10 pu; 50 pu |
| 288(1) | Misleading or deceptive electoral matter – person | 60 pu or 6 months; 300 pu |
| 288(2) | Misleading representation of ballot paper – person | 60 pu or 6 months; 300 pu |
| 289 | Electoral advertisement in newspaper not labelled as advertisement | 10 pu; 50 pu |
| 290(1) | Failure to identify author of electoral article – person | 10 pu; 50 pu |
| 292 | Failure to hand over unregistered how-to-vote cards | 10 pu |
| 293(1) | Making false/misleading statement in relation to voter enrolment – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 294(1) | Forging ballot paper – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 296(1) | Open sealed envelope containing ballot paper; break ballot box seal; deal with ballot papers etc – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 294(3) | Voting in the name of another person; voting more than once; applying for ballot paper in name of another person – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 297 | Infringement of secrecy of voting | 120 pu; 1 year |
| 299 | Interference with postal ballot materials – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 300(2), 320 | Bribery, treating and undue influence – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 300(4), 320 | Giving, conferring, offering property or benefit to influence vote – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 301(1) | Hindering/interfering with free exercise of political rights – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 301(3) | Influencing vote by violence or intimidation – indictable offence | 600 pu; 5 years |
| 301(7) | Interfere with voter marking his or her ballot paper | 120 pu; 1 year |
| 303(1) | Falsification of enrolment record or voter’s roll by Council staff | 120 pu |
| 303(2) | Impersonation of election manager or election official | 10 pu |
| 303(3) | Contravention of LGA by election manager or election official (wilfully or neglectfully) | 60 pu; 6 months |
| 303(4) | Failure to comply with VEC direction by election manager or election official (wilfully or neglectfully) | 60 pu; 6 months |
| 304(2) | Use of council resources to print, publish etc electoral material other than election information | 60 pu |
Part 8 Electoral provisions – Division 10 Election campaign donations
| Local Government Act 2020 | ||
| Section | Offence | Penalty |
| 306(6) | Failing to give a campaign donation return; false or misleading information | 60 pu |
Updated