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Official Agents and Party Agents

Q1 What is the difference between a party agent and an official agent?
A party agent is an agent for a political party and any State candidate or group endorsed by a political party. Party agents are responsible for meeting election funding and disclosure obligations in accordance with the Act and Regulation.

An official agent is an agent for a candidate, group or an elected member who is not endorsed by a registered political party. Official agents are responsible for meeting election funding and disclosure obligations in accordance with the Act and Regulation.

Q2 What does the official agent/party agent do?
An official agent is responsible for complying with the legislation on behalf of the candidate, group or elected member by whom they were appointed. Funding and Disclosure guides issued by the EFA provide more details on when and how various activities related to funding and disclosure must be done. A summary of these activities, as they relate to official agents, is provided in this section.

As an official agent, your primary responsibilities are to:

open a campaign account;
receive, record and disclose political donations $1,000 or more;
receive, record and disclose reportable loans;
record and disclose donations of less than $1,000;
refuse unlawful donations;
record and disclose campaign expenditure; and
lodge disclosures with the Authority.

Q3 Can anyone be an official agent or a party agent?
No. A person can only be appointed as an official agent or party agent if they:

are on the NSW electoral roll;
have not been convicted of an indictable offence, an offence under the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act, an offence involving dishonesty or an electoral offence;
have successfully completed the training provided by the EFA.

The EFA has developed an online official agent training program which is available from this website. Prospective agents can register for the training program. They will be issued with a user name and password to access the training program.

Q4 Does a person have to complete the training program before being appointed and registered as an official agent or party agent?
The following people are not required to undertake the training program:

a Certified Practising Accountant who is a member of CPA Australia, New South Wales Division;
a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, New South Wales Branch, who holds a Certificate of Public Practice issued by that Institute; and
a member of the Institute of Public Accountants who holds a Professional Practice Certificate issued by that Institute.

In all other cases a prospective official agent must successfully complete the training program prior to their appointment. After completion, the candidate, group or elected member can appoint the person as their agent by completing and lodging the Notice of Appointment of Official Agent form (pdf). The EFA will supply written confirmation to the official agent following processing of the form.

Prospective official agents can register for the training program. They will be issued with a username and password to access the training program. Only those who have successfully completed the training can be appointed and registered as an official agent.

Q5 What areas does the training program cover?
The training program provides information to prospective agents about:

the disclosure requirements for candidates, groups, elected members and political parties;
registration of candidates, groups and agents;
requirements for receiving political donations and making payments for electoral expenditure; and
record keeping and management of campaign finances.

The program has an assessment at the end. Applicants are required to achieve a score of at least 80% to pass the assessment. Applicants must pass the assessment before they are eligible to be appointed as an agent. Applicants can sit the assessment up to five times if they do not pass the first time.

Q6 Is the training face-to-face?
No. The training is only available on-line through this website.

Q7 Is the training available languages other than English?
No. The training program is only provided in English. If you experience practical difficulties in getting access to the online training please contact the EFA.

Q8 When will the training program be available?
The training program is available now on this website.

Q9 I don’t have access to the internet in order to complete the training. What should I do?
The training is only available online. Local libraries and other council offices have computers with internet access available to the public. The course can be printed with exception of the assessment component. If you experience practical difficulties in getting access to the online training please contact the EFA

Q10 Can I be an official agent for more than one elected member, candidate or group?
Yes. Each candidate, group and elected member must complete the Notice of Appointment of Official Agent form (pdf) and lodge it with the EFA prior to nomination day for the election for which they are registering.

The agent is required to sign each form stating that they accept the appointment as official agent for the candidate, group or elected member.

Q11 I am an official agent for more than one candidate, group or elected member. Do I need to open a separate campaign account for each person/group?
No. A single campaign account may be used as long as the funds and transactions for each candidate, group or member are accounted for separately.