Expenditure caps for electoral spending at the local government level have been published by the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ).
Caps range from $1.3 million for candidates running for Lord Mayor of Brisbane City Council to $15,000 for remote council candidates who represent a small number of electors.
“These expenditure caps have been determined by our team of election experts at the ECQ, using the legislated process and an established formula,” said Electoral Commissioner, Pat Vidgen.
“Caps for individual candidates differ based on the number of enrolled electors in the local government area (LGA) they are contesting, and whether they are running for mayor or as a councillor.”
The new caps will affect councillors, candidates, groups of candidates, registered political parties and third parties and follow the commencement of the Local Government Electoral and Other Legislation (Expenditure Caps) Amendment Act 2023 on 28 June 2023.
The caps for all councils other than Brisbane City Council are based on enrolment figures as of 1 July 2023, while the caps for Brisbane City Council are set by legislation and are not based on enrolment figures. Caps can be found on the ECQ website here.
Mr Vidgen said the legislative amendments also mean third parties (such as community organisations) will need to register if they plan to spend more than $6,000 in electoral expenditure, and registered political parties and registered third parties will need to keep a dedicated bank account for the local government elections.
“This is the first-time caps on electoral spending have been established for local government elections in Queensland,” Mr Vidgen said.
“The ECQ is committed to supporting candidates to better understand their obligations and has published a range of information and resources on our website to assist with this.
“I encourage all candidates to review this information, including the ECQ’s approach to compliance for the 2024 local government elections, and reach out to our team with any questions.”
The notice specifying the expenditure caps for each local government and the ECQ’s compliance approach for the 2024 local government elections are available on the ECQ website.
