Fact sheet - Candidate information statements

Candidates contesting an ACT election may provide the Electoral Commissioner with information about the candidate, for publication on the Elections ACT website. Candidates or the registered officer of a political party may provide to the Commissioner:

• A photograph of the candidate;
• A statement about the candidate of not more than 500 words; and
• the contact details for the candidate which may include a link to a website used by the candidate for the purpose of the election.

When can a candidate information statement be lodged?

Candidate information statements can be provided to the Electoral Commissioner once they have lodged their nomination form to contest the election. This can be done during their nomination appointment meeting. Nominations for the 2024 ACT election open on 13 September 2024.

Who can lodge a candidate information statement?

Candidate information statements can be lodged by the individual who is nominating to contest the ACT Legislative Assembly election.

For candidates of a registered political party, the registered officer of the political party may provide the information for publication on behalf of party candidates.

What information can be provided?

Each candidate statement may include the following to be published on the Elections ACT website.

A photograph of the candidate

The photo should be provided in JPEG or PNG file format. All candidate photos will be published on the Elections ACT website with a website image height of 175 pixels. Elections ACT will ensure that all photos remain in proportion to this image height.

A statement about the candidate of not more than 500 words

A candidate’s statement must not exceed 500 words. Any candidate statement in excess of 500 words will not be published.

A candidate’s statement must not include content that is obscene, defamatory or otherwise unlawful. Any part of the content that the Commissioner considers obscene, defamatory or otherwise unlawful, will not be published.

With the exception of content that the Commissioner considers obscene, defamatory or otherwise unlawful, Elections ACT will not engage in editing candidate information including corrections of spelling, grammar or typos.

The contact details for the candidate

Candidate contact information will be published following each candidate information statement in the same format for each candidate. Candidate contact information does not contribute to the 500-word limit.

Links to social media platforms or a single website may be provided. If more than one link to a website is provided, Elections ACT will publish only the first from the content provided by the candidate.

It is the responsibility of the candidate or the party’s registered officer to carefully examine any contact information provided for publication to ensure accuracy and privacy.

The candidate statement needs to be appropriately authorised

Candidate information statements are considered ‘electoral matter’ and accordingly, require the inclusion of an authorisation statement.

The authorisation statement does not count towards the 500 words count.

Read the Authorising electoral material fact sheet.

When will the candidate information be published after it is lodged?

Candidate information statements will be published on the Elections ACT website as soon as practicable after the declaration of nominations (25 September 2024) or, if received after the declaration of nominations, as soon as practicable after receipt by the Commissioner.

Candidate information statements lodged outside of normal business hours will be processed the next business day.

A quality assurance process will be undertaken prior to publication to ensure the Commissioner is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the content is not obscene, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful.

Elections ACT will publish all candidate information statements in the same single font and at the same font size.

How to lodge a candidate information statement

The Commission's preferred method of lodgement is through the candidate information statement webform. This webform will be made available at the start of the nomination period on 13 September 2024.

Statements will also be able to be lodged by email at elections@act.gov.au.

Can a candidate change the statement after it is lodged?

How will the order of publication be determined?

The Electoral Commissioner will determine, by lot, the order in which candidate information statements will appear on the Elections ACT website.

Each declared candidate will be included in the draw for position, regardless of whether that candidate has submitted a candidate information statement. If, after the initial publication of candidate information, additional candidates submit information for publication, the information will be published in the order determined by lot.

Disclaimer

Elections ACT takes no responsibility nor bears liability for the contents of the candidate statements, outside the requirements of the Electoral Act.