Government Advertising Regulation 2024

The regulation organises its content around a small number of statutory relationships and defined terms. The key concepts and how they operate in the instrument are:

• Prescribed amount (cl 4). The regulation prescribes $250,000 as the amount referenced in the Act, s 7(2). The regulation does not itself define what s 7(2) requires, but the regulation links that dollar figure to the Act’s peer review threshold. The prescribed amount is therefore a trigger point for whatever procedural requirement the Act attaches to s 7(2).

• Exemption from the Act except prohibition on political advertising (cl 5). Clause 5 provides that the Act, except s 6(1), does not apply to Government advertising campaigns by or on behalf of a specific list of bodies. The clause’s heading and wording indicate that section 6(1) of the Act (described in the heading as the prohibition on political advertising) continues to apply to those bodies. The instrument therefore distinguishes between the Act’s broader regime and the specific prohibition that remains in place for the named entities.

• Electoral Commissioner/Commission exemptions (cl 6). Clause 6 says that the Act, sections 6 and 7(2), do not apply to campaigns that the Electoral Commissioner or Electoral Commission is required to carry out by law, or that are carried out by the Commissioner or Commission in connection with particular electoral events. The clause names typical electoral events, including State elections, local government elections, referenda, and other elections the Commissioner must administer. The concept here is a narrow carve-out for statutorily required electoral administration communications.

• Routine advertising campaign exemption from compliance certificate requirement (cl 7). Clause 7 creates an operational exemption from the Act, s 8 (the requirement for a compliance certificate), for "routine advertising campaigns" provided four conditions are met: expected cost not likely to exceed $250,000 (cl 7(1)(a)), procurement is on behalf of the agency by an authorised person (cl 7(1)(b)), the authorised person is otherwise authorised to incur the expenditure (cl 7(1)(c)), and the authorised person forms the view that the campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines (cl 7(1)(d)). The clause defines who qualifies as an authorised person and what counts as a routine advertising campaign (cl 7(2)). The authorised person must be authorised in writing by the head of the agency either individually or as a class of staff (cl 7(2) authorised person).

• Pre-election restrictions exemptions (cl 8). Clause 8 identifies particular events and a long list of agencies to which the Act, s 10 pre-election period restriction does not apply. The clause thus narrows the scope of the Act’s pre-election constraint by excluding named festivals, dinners and awards, and a set of cultural, arts, tourism, transport and public venue bodies, as well as Create NSW.

• Repeal and savings (cl 9). The regulation repeals the prior Government Advertising Regulation 2018 and contains a savings provision preserving existing acts, matters or things done under the earlier regulation (cl 9(1)-(2)). The commencement note (cl 2) also records that the instrument repeals and replaces the 2018 regulation which would otherwise have been repealed on 1 September 2024 by the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, s 10(2).

Several cross-references anchor these concepts to other instruments. Clause 3 defines the Act as the Government Advertising Act 2011 and includes a note that the Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the regulation’s interpretation and application (cl 3). Clause 6 refers to the Electoral Act 2017 when naming the Electoral Districts Redistribution Panel in cl 5(e). Clause 8(2) cross-references the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 in respect of the department that administers that Act.

The principal mechanism of the regulation is prescriptive exemption. The regulation uses monetary thresholds, named lists of bodies and events, and an internal delegation and opinion requirement to remove certain campaigns from either the Act’s full suite of processes or from specific provisions such as the requirement for a compliance certificate or the pre-election restriction.

The regulation affects a definable set of actors by either removing or imposing procedural steps tied to campaigns. The principal groups affected are:

• Government agencies and their staff, specifically heads of agencies and authorised persons within agencies. Clause 7 makes an internal-authority mechanism central to exemption from the Act, s 8. A head of agency must authorise in writing either individual staff members or classes of staff as "authorised person" for procurement and expenditure purposes (cl 7(2) authorised person). The authorised person then must form an opinion that a routine campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines (cl 7(1)(d)). That allocates decision-making and compliance responsibilities to agency internal delegates and their executives.

• Statutory bodies listed in cl 5. The list includes Royal Commissions, Special Commissions of Inquiry, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the Electoral Districts Redistribution Panel, State owned corporations and universities established or continued by or under an Act (cl 5). For those entities the Act, except s 6(1), does not apply. That is, those entities will not be subject to the full Act regime but remain subject to the Act’s prohibition on political advertising (s 6(1) retained).

• The Electoral Commissioner and the Electoral Commission. Clause 6 removes the application of the Act, sections 6 and 7(2), to campaigns the Commissioner or Commission is required by law to carry out or to those connected with particular electoral events (cl 6(a)-(b), and cl 6(b)(i)-(iv)). Those actors and the electoral administrative function are therefore insulated from the Act’s provisions that would otherwise apply, including the peer review requirement tied to s 7(2).

• A set of named arts, culture, tourism, transport, venue and heritage bodies and a set of named events. Clause 8 lists specific festivals and events that are not subject to the Act’s pre-election period restriction (cl 8(1)) and a number of agencies by name whose campaigns are not subject to s 10 (cl 8(2)). The excluded bodies include, for example, Destination NSW, the Art Gallery of New South Wales Trust, NSW Trains trading as NSW TrainLink, the Sydney Opera House Trust, TAFE Commission, and others enumerated in cl 8(2).

• Media and suppliers to government. Although the regulation does not directly regulate private media or advertising suppliers, it affects the compliance obligations agencies must satisfy before procuring advertising services. The $250,000 threshold (cl 4 and cl 7(1)(a)) is a de facto size marker for when peer review and compliance certificate requirements apply. For suppliers, this changes the documentation and oversight they will see from agencies depending on campaign cost and internal authorisation.

• Chief executives and procurement officers. The procurement element in cl 7(1)(b) requires that routine campaigns be procured on behalf of the agency by an authorised person. Procurement processes, delegation charts and invoice approval practices will be engaged by this requirement.

• Public auditors, Ombudsman and other oversight bodies. The documentation and internal authorisations required by cl 7 create audit touch points. The savings provision (cl 9(2)) preserves the legal effect of prior actions taken under the 2018 regulation, which affects ongoing oversight or historical review.

Who pays. The regulation itself does not create new funding streams or taxes. The mobile cost effect lies in who bears compliance and administrative costs. Agencies will bear the internal administrative costs of establishing written authorisations, maintaining records of opinions that campaigns comply with the Act and guidelines, and applying the $250,000 threshold. Where the Act’s peer review or compliance certificate would otherwise apply, the regulation reduces or removes those procedural costs for campaigns that fall within the exemptions, shifting potential oversight burdens internally to authorised staff.

Who decides. Decision-making is allocated in several places: the head of the agency must authorise staff or classes of staff in writing (cl 7(2)), and an authorised person must form the opinion that the campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines (cl 7(1)(d)). For exempted statutory bodies named in cl 5, the decision to proceed without the Act’s other procedural requirements rests with those bodies subject to the continuing prohibition in s 6(1) only. The Electoral Commissioner’s statutory responsibilities are carved out from particular provisions by cl 6; the Commissioner or Commission will decide under the law they administer.

Behaviour changes. The regulation changes the way agencies document and manage lower-cost "routine" campaigns by creating an internal delegation route instead of a central compliance certificate route. It also channels electoral communications and campaigns by certain bodies away from the Act’s full procedural architecture. The pre-election carve-outs for named events and bodies mean that campaigns tied to those events can proceed in the pre-election period without engaging the Act’s s 10 restriction.

The regulation itself primarily creates exemption rules and an internal-authority duty; it does not create standalone substantive rights or detailed obligations beyond those exemptions. The key duties and discrete entitlements that the regulation imposes or recognises are:

• Duty to observe the $250,000 prescribed amount when determining peer review applicability. Clause 4 prescribes $250,000 as the amount linked to the Act, s 7(2). Agencies have the duty to apply that monetary trigger to determine whether the Act’s peer review requirement applies. The regulation does not set how to calculate the cost, but it expresses the threshold as a prescribed amount.

• Head of agency’s duty to authorise in writing. Clause 7(2) defines "authorised person" as a member of staff who is authorised in writing by the head of the Government agency, or who is in a class of staff so authorised. That introduces a duty for the head of agency to make explicit written delegations if the agency wishes to rely on the routine campaign exemption. The regulation requires written authorisation, not abstract or implied authorisation.

• Authorised person’s duty to form an express opinion about compliance. Clause 7(1)(d) makes the authorised person’s opinion the condition for exemption from the Act, s 8. The authorised person must in their opinion consider that the campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines. This places an internal compliance judgement on individual staff members authorised by the head.

• Procurement duty. Clause 7(1)(b) requires that a routine advertising campaign be procured on behalf of the Government agency by an authorised person. The authorised person must be authorised to incur the expenditure on behalf of the agency (cl 7(1)(c)). That is a formal delegation and procurement duty: the procurement must be conducted by the authorised person and that person must have authority to incur the relevant expenditure.

• Duty to recognise limits of the Act. Clauses 5 and 6 create carve-outs, but they preserve the Act’s prohibition on political advertising in cl 5 by excluding application of the Act except s 6(1). Agencies listed in cl 5, therefore, remain subject to s 6(1) of the Act. The duty here is to observe the continuing prohibition. The regulation does not itself restate s 6(1), so agencies must consult the Act to understand that continuing duty.

• Exemption rights. A Government agency that meets the conditions for a routine advertising campaign under cl 7 has the right to proceed without securing a compliance certificate under the Act, s 8. Similarly, the agencies and events listed in cl 8 have the right to run campaigns during the pre-election period without engaging the Act, s 10 restriction.

• Record-keeping and evidential duties implied by the instrument. While the regulation does not itself prescribe record-keeping or disclosures, the written authorisation requirement and the authorised person’s opinion imply a need to record the delegation and the opinion. The instrument’s savings provision (cl 9(2)) also implies that prior actions under the old regulation continue to have effect, which may require record continuity.

• Interaction with Government advertising guidelines. Clause 7(1)(d) explicitly links the authorised person’s opinion to compliance not only with the Act and this regulation but also with the Government advertising guidelines. That creates a cross-instrument compliance duty: the authorised person must consider those guidelines when forming their opinion.

Rights and duties omitted. The regulation does not itself provide enforcement measures, penalties, appeal processes or procedural timelines. Those matters are vestigial to the Act and the other instruments the regulation references (see cl 3 note). The regulation does not define "cost", does not state how to apportion costs across multiple campaign components, does not set time limits for authorised person opinions, and does not require public disclosure of the authorisations or opinions. Those are gaps that an agency must address by internal policy, reference to the Act, or by reliance on other instruments.

The regulation contains no express penalty, fine, or enforcement mechanism. It operates by specifying exemptions and procedural conditions; it does not itself create offences. The regulation’s text does not include any sanctioning clauses or powers to investigate or order remedial action.

Because the regulation repeatedly cross-refers to the Government Advertising Act 2011 (cl 3) and its provisions, enforcement and penalties relevant to Government advertising are located in the Act rather than in this regulation. The regulation’s Note in cl 3 expressly states that "The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this regulation." That note signals that readers must consult the Act for the substantive enforcement architecture that governs government advertising. The regulation does not reproduce or summarise any of that enforcement architecture.

Where the regulation creates decision points that have legal consequence, the potential enforcement paths are:

• For campaigns that fall within the exemption in cl 5 (Act except s 6(1) not applying), the Act’s other enforcement mechanisms are not engaged because the Act does not apply to those campaigns. The only exception is the preservation of s 6(1) in cl 5, which the regime keeps in force. The regulation does not itself state how s 6(1) is enforced; that remains a matter for the Act.

• For routine campaigns that rely on cl 7, the authorised person’s written authorisation and stated opinion are the conditions of the exemption from the Act, s 8. If those conditions are not met, the Act’s compliance certificate requirement remains in force and any non-compliance would be dealt with under the Act’s enforcement provisions. The regulation does not specify who checks or audits the authorised person’s opinion.

• For electoral campaigns carved out by cl 6, the Act, sections 6 and 7(2), do not apply. Any remedies or enforcement relating to electoral communications therefore lie outside the Act’s application for those campaigns; the regulation does not assert alternate enforcement bodies for those communications.

The regulation therefore delegates enforcement to the Act and other instruments referenced therein. Practically, compliance risk falls on agencies and authorised persons: if an authorised person claims an exemption but has not been validly authorised in writing by the head of the agency, that campaign will not be exempt and the agency would be exposed to whatever enforcement the Act prescribes. The regulation does not specify the evidentiary weight of authorisation documents or opinions, it simply makes them conditions of the exemption.

For a user seeking to understand sanction risk, the immediate observation from the text is that the regulation itself does not change penalty constructs; it reallocates where compliance judgments take place. An inspection of the Act is required to identify what penalties attach to failing to obtain a compliance certificate, breaching the prohibition in s 6(1), or otherwise contravening the Act.

The regulation is explicitly parasitic on the Government Advertising Act 2011 and several other statutes referenced in its clauses. The interactions and cross-references in the regulation are:

• Government Advertising Act 2011 (the Act). The regulation defines the Act in cl 3 and ties multiple clauses to specific provisions of the Act. Clause 4 prescribes an amount for the Act, s 7(2). Clause 5 limits the Act’s operation (except s 6(1)) for listed bodies. Clause 6 exempts certain Electoral Commissioner or Commission campaigns from Act, sections 6 and 7(2). Clause 7 creates an exemption from the Act, s 8 requirements for routine campaigns. Clause 8 creates exemptions from the Act, s 10 pre-election restrictions for named events and agencies. Each of these clauses presupposes that the reader understands the content of the referenced Act sections. The regulation does not reproduce the operative text of those Act sections.

• Interpretation Act 1987. Clause 3 contains an express note that the Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this regulation. The regulation therefore acknowledges that its terms are to be read in light of the interpretive rules and definitions in the Interpretation Act.

• Subordinate Legislation Act 1989. The commencement note in cl 2 refers to the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, s 10(2), in explaining that the 2018 regulation would otherwise have been repealed on 1 September 2024. The regulation replaces the 2018 instrument to maintain continuity. Clause 9 directly repeals the 2018 regulation and saves its continuing effects (cl 9).

• Electoral Act 2017. Clause 5(e) refers to the Electoral Districts Redistribution Panel established under the Electoral Act 2017. Clause 6 interacts with the Electoral Commissioner or Electoral Commission as agents that may be required by law to carry out certain campaigns, including State elections, local government elections, referenda and other elections the Commissioner must administer (cl 6). The regulation therefore has a functional relationship with electoral administration law, carving out electoral communications from particular Act provisions.

• National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Clause 8(2)(e) excludes the department in which the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 is administered from s 10 prohibition where the campaign relates to the National Parks and Wildlife Service. That is an example of a sectoral cross-reference where the regulation recognises an agency that has statutory responsibilities under a different Act.

• Government advertising guidelines (external administrative instrument). Clause 7(1)(d) requires the authorised person’s opinion to consider compliance with the Government advertising guidelines. The guidelines are an external administrative instrument outside both the Act and this regulation. The regulation therefore ties exemptions to subordinate administrative guidance, making the guidelines functionally part of the compliance assessment.

Practical interaction mechanisms:

• Delegation and agency internal law. The authorised person model requires written authorisations by heads of agency. That interacts with agency instruments, delegations of authority and procurement rules. Those instruments will need to align with the regulation’s written-authorisation requirement.

• Cross-instrument compliance checks. When a campaign claims an exemption under this regulation, auditors or oversight bodies will need to check the Act, the written delegation, the authorised person’s opinion, and the relevant Government advertising guidelines to determine whether the exemption is valid.

• Continuity with prior regulation. The repeal and savings clause (cl 9) keeps actions taken under the 2018 regulation in force. This reduces legal discontinuity for campaigns that began under the old regulation and continue under the new regime.

What the regulation does not do in relation to other laws:

• It does not amend the Act. It only prescribes amounts and exemptions under the Act. It does not change the substantive prohibitions, other than by specifying exclusions from the Act’s applicability in particular contexts.

• It does not specify enforcement provisions from other laws. The regulation does not assert that other statutory regimes will enforce its requirements; it leaves enforcement to the Act and the relevant statutory frameworks.

Agencies planning campaigns must therefore treat the regulation as a procedural filter applied to the Act and as a bridge to agency delegation instruments, procurement rules and the Government advertising guidelines.

The regulation is framed as a replacement for the Government Advertising Regulation 2018. Key amendment-history points expressly recorded in the instrument are:

• Repeal of the Government Advertising Regulation 2018. Clause 9(1) expressly repeals the 2018 regulation. Clause 9(2) provides a savings provision preserving the effect of acts, matters or things that had effect under the 2018 regulation immediately before its repeal.

• Commencement timing. Clause 2 states that the regulation commences on the day it is published on the NSW legislation website. The clause includes a note that the regulation repeals and replaces the 2018 regulation which would otherwise be repealed on 1 September 2024 by the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, s 10(2).

• 2024 amendment annotation. Clause 8 carries a marginal note "s 8: Am 2024 No 82, Sch 2.6." That indicates clause 8 was amended by a 2024 instrument (No 82) inserting Schedule 2.6. The regulation as supplied therefore includes an amendment to clause 8 recorded in 2024.

• Embedded continuity. Clause 9(2) is a standard savings provision. By preserving acts, matters and things that had effect under the 2018 regulation, the regulation avoids immediate legal gaps for campaigns or approvals carried out under the earlier instrument.

What the regulation does not do in terms of amendment history:

• It contains no historical text of the 2018 regulation, so it does not summarise how the 2024 instrument differs clause-by-clause from the 2018 instrument. The only explicit historical signals are the repeal and the savings clause, the commencement note referencing the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 and the marginal amendment note attached to clause 8.

For a practitioner, the key amendment-history consequences are: ensure continuity of authorisations and documents from the 2018 regime (cl 9(2)); note the $250,000 prescribed amount is newly or now specified in this instrument (cl 4); and be aware that clause 8 was updated by a 2024 amending instrument as noted in the marginal annotation.

The regulation text supplied contains no litigation history, case references or reported determinations dealing with its application. It does reference other statutes in which legal issues might arise, but the regulation itself does not include any judicial or tribunal decisions, and it does not name any cases.

Implications of an absence of litigation history in the text:

• No precedential guidance within the regulation itself. Practitioners must look to the Government Advertising Act 2011, the Interpretation Act 1987 and other administrative law authorities for any contested interpretation or enforcement issues. The regulation’s sparse content means that disputes will hinge on interpretation of delegation, the authorised person’s opinion standard, the meaning of "cost", the nature of "routine advertising campaign", and how the Act’s cross-referenced provisions operate. Those disputes will be resolved under the Act and general administrative law principles rather than the regulation per se.

• Potential for future litigation on borderline issues. The regulation leaves several interpretive gaps that could prompt challenges if an agency relies on an exemption and a third party alleges incorrect application. Examples include disagreements about whether a campaign is "not likely to be more than $250,000", whether the authorised person was validly authorised in writing, whether the authorised person could reasonably form the opinion required by cl 7(1)(d), and whether the pre-election carve-outs in cl 8 apply to a specific campaign. The regulation does not provide administrative appeal routes or internal review procedures; those would be matters for the Act, or judicial review in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal or courts.

• Records to support litigation or review will be central. Because the regulation conditions exemptions on written authorisations and opinions, documentary evidence will likely be determinative in any dispute. Clause 9(2) saves prior acts under the 2018 regulation, which may preserve evidential trails from older campaigns.

In short, the regulation does not report any litigation. Practitioners should assume that contested legal questions will be decided using the Act, administrative law principles and evidentiary records such as the written delegations and opinions that the regulation makes material.

This regulation is compact but contains several practical pitfalls and non-obvious consequences for agencies, authorised staff and third parties. The following items should be treated as concrete operational "gotchas" because they arise directly from the text:

• Two distinct references to $250,000 serve different gatekeeping roles. Clause 4 prescribes $250,000 as the amount for the Act, s 7(2) peer review trigger. Clause 7(1)(a) uses the same $250,000 figure to define the upper bound for a "routine advertising campaign" to be exempt from the Act, s 8 compliance certificate requirement. Practitioners must not assume the single figure is decorative; it activates two separate provisions of the Act and therefore must be applied carefully to both peer review and compliance certificate questions.

• "Not likely to be more than $250,000" is a probabilistic test. Clause 7(1)(a) uses forward-looking language. The regulation does not state how to measure "not likely to be more than $250,000", whether to use budget estimates, procurement quotes, or a worst-case scenario. That opens the door to later second-guessing. Agencies should document the basis for any estimate used to justify an exemption.

• Written authorisation is required; verbal or implied delegation will not meet the test. Clause 7(2) requires the authorised person to be authorised in writing by the head of the agency, or be in a class of staff authorised in writing. Without a written delegation or written class authorisation, the exemption will not be available and the Act’s s 8 requirement remains. This is an administrative formalism that agencies must implement.

• The authorised person’s subjective opinion is the exemption trigger. Clause 7(1)(d) says the authorised person must, in their opinion, be satisfied the campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines. The regulation does not require that the opinion be reasonable or supported by particular steps; it simply requires that the authorised person hold the opinion. However, in any subsequent challenge, the reasonableness and evidential basis of that opinion will be a focal point. The regulation does not specify whether the opinion must be recorded in writing, but cl 7(2) requires written authorisation, implying that written records will be prudent.

• The exemption scope and the retained prohibition are asymmetric. Clause 5 excludes the Act, except s 6(1), for a list of entities. The heading describes s 6(1) as the prohibition on political advertising. Therefore those bodies are exempt from the Act’s broader regime but are retained as subject to the political advertising prohibition. Agencies and staff in those bodies must therefore identify the content of s 6(1) in the Act and ensure campaigns comply, even though other Act provisions do not apply. The regulation does not reproduce s 6(1), so reliance on the Act text is necessary.

• The electoral carve-out removes peer review and section 6 for certain electoral campaigns. Clause 6 says the Act, sections 6 and 7(2), do not apply to Electoral Commissioner/Commission campaigns required by law or connected with particular electoral events. That means the Act’s peer review threshold under s 7(2) and the Act’s section 6 provisions do not apply in those circumstances. Agencies engaged by the Electoral Commissioner must consider whether other electoral or statutory requirements apply instead.

• Pre-election carve-outs are numerous and specific. Clause 8 identifies named events and many named agencies for which the Act, s 10 pre-election restriction does not apply. The list is specific and does not include shorthand categories. An agency not listed cannot rely on this carve-out. That may create an expectation that cultural and tourism bodies have broader freedom pre-election, but the exemption is limited to the agencies and events named.

• The Government advertising guidelines are incorporated by reference for authorised person opinions. Clause 7(1)(d) requires that the authorised person be satisfied the campaign complies with the Government advertising guidelines, which are not reproduced in the regulation. Practitioners must find and apply those guidelines; failure to do so could invalidate an exemption claim.

• Absence of detailed definitions and procedural steps. The regulation does not define "cost" or provide rules for apportioning multi-component campaigns across thresholds. It does not prescribe record retention, mandatory content of the authorised person’s opinion, or an audit trail. These omissions place a load on agency policy and on the Act for enforcement guidance.

• Savings provision preserves prior effects but can create legacy obligations. Clause 9(2) keeps in force acts, matters and things under the 2018 regulation. Agencies must ensure continuity in authorisations and that historical campaigns begun under the 2018 regime remain compliant under any new administrative rules.

• The marginal amendment note to cl 8 suggests recent legislative development. Clause 8 includes the annotation "s 8: Am 2024 No 82, Sch 2.6." That indicates clause 8 was amended in 2024. Practitioners should not assume clause 8 is unchanged from prior versions without checking the amending instrument.

These gotchas are concrete mechanical points arising from the regulation. Each creates a potential compliance, audit or litigation exposure that agencies and advisers must manage through delegation documents, procurement practices, documentation of opinion and reference to the Act and to the Government advertising guidelines.

Compliance with this regulation requires a mix of documentary, budgetary and procedural controls. The regulation’s operative conditions are small in number, so a targeted compliance checklist is appropriate. The following concrete steps, tied to the regulation’s clauses, will assist agencies and authorised staff to comply with the instrument:

1. Establish and document written delegations from the head of the agency (cl 7(2)).

   • Prepare a written instrument (individual authorisation or class authorisation) signed by the head of the agency that identifies who is an "authorised person" for the purposes of clause 7. Ensure the delegation explicitly states authority to procure advertising and to incur expenditure on behalf of the agency where intended. Retain the written authorisation in a searchable record.

2. Budget estimation and documentation for the $250,000 thresholds (cl 4 and cl 7(1)(a)).

   • For each campaign, prepare a contemporaneous cost estimate and a brief supporting note that explains why the campaign is "not likely to be more than $250,000" or is expected to exceed that amount. If the campaign approaches the threshold, consider obtaining written procurement quotes or finance approvals to substantiate the estimate. Record the methodology used to arrive at the estimate.

3. Obtain and document the authorised person’s opinion that the campaign complies with the Act, this regulation and the Government advertising guidelines (cl 7(1)(d)).

   • Create a standardised form or memo that the authorised person completes and signs stating their opinion that the campaign complies with the Act, the regulation and the Government advertising guidelines. The form should reference the specific parts of the Act and the guidelines considered, list the checks undertaken, and be retained in the campaign file. Although the regulation does not require the opinion be in writing, the written form will be the primary evidence that the exemption was validly claimed.

4. Ensure procurement is conducted by the authorised person and in accordance with delegation (cl 7(1)(b)-(c)).

   • Procurement documentation should show that the authorised person procured the service on behalf of the agency and had the authority to incur the expenditure. Tender documents, purchase orders, invoices and approvals should cross-reference the authorisation and the authorised person’s name.

5. Confirm whether the agency or campaign is one of the named exceptions (cl 5, cl 6, cl 8).

   • Check whether the campaign is carried out by or on behalf of one of the bodies expressly listed in clause 5, whether it is an electoral communication covered by clause 6, or whether it falls within the events or agencies listed in clause 8. If a campaign falls within one of those lists, document the applicable clause and confirm whether the Act, or specific sections of the Act, are excluded from application.

6. Apply the Government advertising guidelines.

   • Locate the current Government advertising guidelines and apply them as part of the authorised person’s assessment. Record the specific guideline provisions considered in the opinion memo. If the guidelines are updated, note their version and date in the campaign file.

7. Maintain file continuity with prior authorisations (cl 9(2)).

   • Where a campaign commenced under the 2018 regulation and continues, retain the documentation that gave effect to the action under the 2018 regime. Clause 9(2) preserves those acts; however, keeping the full file will enable auditors or reviewers to trace continuity.

8. For electoral campaigns, confirm statutory obligations (cl 6).

   • If the Electoral Commissioner or Electoral Commission is the actor, confirm whether the campaign is required by law or connected to a particular electoral event. If so, identify that the Act, sections 6 and 7(2), do not apply under cl 6. However, verify whether other statutory obligations apply under electoral law and document that analysis.

9. Address pre-election period questions for listed agencies and events (cl 8).

   • If a campaign is scheduled in a pre-election period, determine whether the campaign relates to one of the events or agencies listed in cl 8. If it does, document reliance on the carve-out. If it does not, engage the Act, s 10, and seek a compliance certificate or peer review if required by the Act.

10. Implement audit-ready record-keeping and retention practice.

    • Even though the regulation does not prescribe records retention periods, retain all authorisation documents, cost estimates, procurement records and the authorised person’s opinion for the relevant audit retention period in the agency. Treat these documents as primary evidence for any subsequent oversight or review under the Act.

11. Create an internal guidance note tying together delegation, procurement and compliance.

    • Prepare an internal agency note that explains step-by-step how to apply the regulation: identify the campaign type, estimate cost, check for named exemptions, obtain written authorisation, create and sign the compliance opinion, complete procurement steps, and file all documentation. The note should also direct staff to the Act and the Government advertising guidelines.

12. Train procurement, legal and communications staff.

    • Provide targeted training for staff who might be authorised persons, procurement officers and communications managers. Training should cover how to estimate campaign cost, how to complete the authorised person opinion form, when to escalate for a compliance certificate, and how to document reliance on the exemptions in cl 5, cl 6 and cl 8.

13. Escalation for borderline or high-risk campaigns.

    • For campaigns with costs near $250,000 or with mixed content that might raise political advertising concerns under s 6(1) of the Act, institute an escalation protocol for legal and executive review. Given the regulation’s silence on precise measurement rules and evidentiary standards, obtaining internal legal advice will reduce uncertainty.

14. Public record considerations.

    • If transparency or public scrutiny is likely, consider publishing authorisation templates or a register of campaigns and the basis for any exemption used. The regulation does not require publication, but doing so will reduce reputational and audit risk.

Following these steps will create a documentary foundation for claiming the routine campaign exemption, for relying on the various carve-outs the regulation provides, and for demonstrating to auditors or review bodies that the conditions in clauses 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been properly considered and satisfied.