Groom by election: disclosure returns published today

Disclosure returns lodged with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) by candidates following the Groom by‑election held on Saturday 28 November 2020 are now released for public inspection.

The election disclosure returns are available to view on the AEC website at https://transparency.aec.gov.au/.

The returns cover receipts, electoral expenditure and discretionary benefits received by candidates who contested the by‑election. All four candidates lodged returns, with three of those candidates lodging nil returns. No donor returns were lodged for the by-election.

Gifts received and any expenditure incurred by a candidate’s party committee will be included in the annual financial disclosure returns for 2020–21 lodged by the party.

Party financial disclosure returns for the 2020–21 financial year will be available for public inspection on Tuesday 1 February 2022.

Editor’s notes:

Financial disclosure requirements

Candidates

Candidates are required to disclose the total sum of all donations received and used to fund their campaign, along with details of donations received where those donations total more than $14,300 from a single source. Details of electoral expenditure and discretionary benefits are also required.

Officially endorsed candidates may submit a “nil return” and roll their reporting into the annual return for their party, due for release in February 2022, if those financial transactions were the responsibility of a party committee.

Donors

Donations totalling more than $14,300 made to an individual candidate, and donations received by a donor totalling more than $14,300 from a single source that were used in turn to fund donations to an individual candidate, must be reported by the donor.

Further information on the financial disclosure scheme can be found on the AEC website.