The Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum is coming in late 2023. The referendum is about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
New rules about disclosure of spending and donations received on referendum matters have come into force and apply for the first time in respect of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum. The rules apply where spending or donations received are $15,200 or more.
The new rules apply to:
- individuals and all entities including charities (known as referendum entities “REs”).
- spending and donations received during the period six months before the referendum writ is issued up to voting day.
- any spending to influence voters in a referendum.
Donations include non-monetary gifts of goods and services (other than voluntary labour). It is expected that such gifts will need to be valued and included in the disclosures. However, the regulations on how they are to be valued are not yet available.
It should be noted that the exact date of the referendum has not yet been determined (and the referendum writ has not yet been issued). Accordingly, it is not yet known when the relevant period for tracking and reporting period commences. The Government has indicated that the referendum will be held sometime between September – December 2023, therefore it would be prudent to track all referendum donations and expenditure from 1 March 2023, in order to be able to comply with the disclosure requirements when they are triggered.
It is important to note that Referendum Entities (REs) are prohibited from receiving donations from foreign donors of $100 or more in respect of referendum matters. Foreign campaigners are also prohibited from fundraising or expending more than $1,000 in respect of referendum matters.
The new disclosure requirements state that REs must maintain proper records and source documents of all relevant transactions and lodge a return with the Australian Electoral Commission (“AEC”) within 15 weeks after the voting day. The returns will then be published on their website 24 weeks after voting day.
The return will disclose:
- Referendum expenditure incurred.
- The total value of donations received for referendum campaigning.
- The total number of donors.
- Details of donations above the disclosure threshold (including names and addresses).
- Assigned statement of compliance with foreign donations restrictions.
The AEC recommends that REs advise donors that their details may be disclosed.
Further details are available on the
AEC Website