Senator the Hon Don Farrell

In February 2025, the Albanese Labor Government passed landmark reform to the Commonwealth Electoral Act that address the growing tide of big money in our politics.

The legislation is broad and detailed, placing a strong and transparent framework over federal elections and those that seek to influence them.

Since passage, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), together with Department of Finance, have worked tirelessly towards implementation – including consultation with stakeholders and political participants, the drafting of regulations and guidance, and most importantly – the design and upgrade of new online systems.

The most substantial part of this work is the scoping, testing, and rollout of a new donation disclosure portal – ensuring donors and recipients can publicly disclose more donations, under reduced thresholds, in a much quicker timeframe.

During Senate Estimates in February, the AEC provided evidence regarding the difficulties for implementation should a by-election be held prior to the operational date.

With the announcement of the by-election in Farrer, the systems of the AEC will be effectively locked down from the issuing of writs tomorrow (1 April), through to the declaration of the poll in May.

The AEC has therefore recommended a deferral of the date of operation by six months until 1 January 2027.

I have accepted the comprehensive and trusted advice of the Commissioner and will amend the operative date to the commencement of the new year.

At that point, the reforms will commence operation for their first full calendar year, including the strengthened powers of the AEC, and the penalties applied to breaches.

I thank the AEC and relevant agencies for the progress they are making, and encourage all interested political participants to continue working with them towards the implementation of the reform.

Download the correspondence from the Australian Electoral Commission.