Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Communications) Bill 2025 (No. 2)

# Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Communications) Bill 2025 ## What it does This bill changes the rules around what counts as political advertising during elections and referendums. It creates a new "Electoral Communications Panel" to help determine whether certain messages are actually political campaigning (which must follow strict rules) or just regular communication. The bill updates election and referendum laws to enforce these clearer definitions. ## Why it matters Right now, there's confusion about what qualifies as election advertising, which means some organisations can slip campaign messages past the rules by claiming they're something else. Clearer rules should level the playing field so voters see who's really paying for political messages targeting them. ## Key details - **The Electoral Communications Panel** will decide borderline cases—whether something counts as political advertising based on what a "reasonable person" would think its main purpose is, rather than what the person sending it claims - **Two rollout dates**: Most changes kick in on 1 January 2026, but some technical fixes happen within 28 days of the bill passing - **Panel members are protected**: They're not classified as election "officers," meaning they have some legal separation from the Electoral Commission while still doing this work