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Referendums Framework Bill

Referendum advertising - Registered promoters - Returns of referendum expenses

74: Return of registered promoter’s referendum expenses to be publicly available

You could also call this:

"People can see how much money a referendum promoter spent, and this information is available to the public."

Illustration for Referendums Framework Bill

If a promoter of a referendum files a return of their expenses under section 72, the Electoral Commission can make this information public. You can look at a copy of the return during the public inspection period. The public inspection period starts three working days after the Electoral Commission gets the return and ends six years later.

The Electoral Commission can charge you to look at the return, and they can decide how much to charge based on the Official Information Act 1982. You will be able to see the return during the public inspection period, which is the time between when the Electoral Commission receives the return and six years later. This rule will still apply even after the law that it is part of is repealed, until the end of the last public inspection period.

The Electoral Commission can decide how to make the return public, and they must make it available for you to look at during the public inspection period. They can charge you for looking at the return, and the amount they charge will be based on the Official Information Act 1982. This means you will have to pay to look at the return, but you will be able to see it during the public inspection period.

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This page was last updated on 25 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1028747.

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

73: Electoral Commission may require auditor’s report on return of registered promoter’s referendum expenses, or

"The Electoral Commission can ask for a special report to check if a promoter's referendum expenses are honest and correct."

75: Illegal practices, or

"Breaking referendum advertising rules on purpose"

Part 3Referendum advertising
Registered promoters: Returns of referendum expenses

74Return of registered promoter’s referendum expenses to be publicly available

The Electoral Commission may publish, in any manner that the Electoral Commission considers appropriate, every return filed under section 72.
During the public inspection period, the Electoral Commission must make a copy of every return filed under section 72 available for public inspection.
The Electoral Commission may make inspection under subsection (2) subject to the payment of any charges that may be made under the Official Information Act 1982.
In this section, public inspection period, in relation to a return, means the period—
beginning on the day that is 3 working days after the date on which the Electoral Commission receives the return; and
ending 6 years after the receipt of the return.

Despite section 3, this section applies until the end of the last public inspection period that began under this Act before its repeal.