- Candidates must comply with the Local Government (Elections) Regulations 1997 and the Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021.
- During an election campaign, a person may not bribe a candidate, nor can a candidate accept a bribe or any sort of reward in exchange for an electoral promise.
- Elected and unelected candidates may be entitled to claim the first $1000 of their campaign expenses as a tax deduction. Refer to the Australian Tax Office for further information.
Communication and social media
- While campaigns are competitive, candidates are encouraged to focus on their own positive messages, rather than making negative comments about other candidates and/or statements that may adversely impact voters. Candidates should be respectful of the views of community members and other candidates.
- Candidates may not print, publish or distribute deceptive or misleading material.
- Social media is a great way to get messages out during a campaign; however, there can be issues when using social media. Content posted online is highly accessible and has the potential to go 'viral’ in a matter of minutes. This can be both good and bad.
- Campaign and conduct rules apply to online materials in the same way as they do in the physical world. Publication and commentary on social media carries the same obligations as any other kind of publication or commentary. Candidates should take care that they don’t comment, contribute, create, forward, post, upload or share content that is misleading, deceptive, malicious or defamatory.
- Individual social media platforms maintain their own governance rules regarding electoral material and may remove content or block users. State Government agencies have no power over such decisions or actions taken by social media platforms.
- Incidents of any serious online abuse can be reported to the eSafety Commissioner.
Advice from the WAEC
- All election material, including material posted on social media, must have the correct name and physical address (not a post office box) of the authorising person.
- Any printed election material, other than in a newspaper, must also have the name and physical address of the printer.
- The WAEC does not regulate the content of election material and has no role in deciding whether a political message is true or untrue.
- The WAEC is responsible for ensuring that electors are aware who is responsible for statements contained in election material.
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