The 8 March 2025 State election will occur in a new era after laws came into effect today reshaping Western Australia’s electoral rules.
The significant changes offer more transparency about political expenditure in the lead-up to the election with any donations over $2,600 to be published on the Commission’s website.
For the first time in Western Australia, there is now a cap on expenditure not just for political parties and candidates but also for third party campaigners. This limits the amount spent on advertising, billboards, mailouts, polling and the like during election periods.
Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy said the changes allow voters to have greater understanding about who is funding elections and how much they are spending.
“It’s about encouraging more people to vote more easily, with greater transparency and accountability of donations to political parties and candidates to ensure public confidence in WA’s election process.”
Members of the public can find out each day during a State election campaign who has donated to which party or candidate, and how much they have donated.
Among the other changes, teenagers can now start the enrolment process at age 16 onwards. Changes apply to postal votes, plus changes to early polling and a new code of conduct for election campaign workers on polling days.
There will be no foreign or anonymous donations permitted.
Political parties are banned from processing postal vote applications, and will not be able to distribute them unless in an approved form with applications returned directly to the Commission.
The Commission is working with the parties and candidates in the lead-up to the election to introduce the changes.