No by-elections please: AEC needs clear air for reforms

The country’s electoral body maintains it is on track to deliver the biggest federal overhaul in 40 years, despite legal doubts and a six-month delay.

Planned reforms include expedited identification of donors who give $5,000 or more, campaign spending caps and donor limits.

Funding for political parties and elected representatives has also increased, and more money has been made available for compliance with the new rules, reflecting the complexity of the changes.

The reforms were passed by parliament in February 2025 and were due to come into force on Wednesday.

However, the Australian Electoral Commission successfully petitioned the government to delay the changes until January 1, 2027, citing the Farrer by-election.

Election Commissioner Jeff Pope said there would be no need for a second postponement unless there is another midterm election this year.

“The implementation of the funding and disclosure reforms is the biggest change to federal election laws in over 40 years and involves highly complex issues for a range of political participants and the AEC,” he told AAP.

“It is going very well. System creation activities, development of detailed procedural requirements, and stakeholder training are all making progress.

“If there was another by-election in late 2026 it would cause some disruption… but with the additional time given to the AEC we are confident we will deliver by the 1 January 2027 start date.”

By-elections occur when MPs leave office mid-term, such as Sussan Ley’s hasty retirement after losing the Liberal leadership.

Another by-election is not planned, but sacked Labor ministers Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic, as well as Angus Taylor, are said to stand down from politics if he makes mistakes in the party room.

At a Senate estimates hearing last month, Mr Pope recommended that “additional phases and IT elements” would be implemented within three years.

“We are working hard to deliver the best product available by January 1st… We will not have a complete system on January 1st,” he said.

A separate legal challenge will also be heard in the Supreme Court later this year.

Former independents Rex Patrick and Zoe Daniel oppose the reforms on the grounds that spending caps hurt independents’ chances against the major parties.

This case has not yet reached the court dockets, but the plaintiffs expect a hearing in the coming weeks.

Catherine Williams, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, said donations and spending limits were needed to limit the influence of the wealthy, but she did not believe the reforms were in the right place.

“If they are not calibrated really carefully, they can have a distorting effect on election results,” he told AAP.

“It needs to be designed to be fair to everyone who wants to compete.”

The new laws allow parties to spend up to $90 million nationwide and give individual candidates an $800,000 limit.

Third parties such as GetUp, Climate 200 or Advance will be subject to the $11.2 million national cap.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Don Farrell said the reforms were designed to “limit the influence of big money in our politics.”

“It should be clear to every Australian that billionaires are trying to influence democracy around the world,” he said.

“From day one, wealthy candidates and donors were expected to oppose the reforms.”

The new reforms also introduce annual administrative aid funding of $30,000 for lawmakers and $15,000 for senators.

This means Labor will receive an extra $3.3 million next year to facilitate compliance, while the coalition will receive $1.6 million.