40Rejection and amendment of candidate statements

40 Rejection and amendment of candidate statements

(1) The election manager must reject a candidate statement if—

(a) in the opinion of the election manager, the statement contains any of the following—

(i) material that is offensive or obscene;

(ii) material that is likely to mislead or deceive a voter in casting a vote;

(iii) a reference to another candidate that is included without the written consent of that candidate;

(iv) a claim of endorsement or support from a party, an organisation or a person that is not supported by the written consent referred to in regulation 39(3);

(v) material that is in breach of an Act or regulation; or

(b) the candidate has not lodged a declaration in accordance with regulation 38(4).

Reg. 40(2) amended by S.R. No. 57/2024 reg. 13.

(2) If the election manager rejects a candidate statement under subregulation (1), the election manager must notify the candidate no later than 12 noon on the day after nomination day—

(a) that the candidate statement has been rejected and the reasons for the rejection;
and

(b) which section or sections of the candidate statement needs to be amended for the candidate statement to be accepted; and

(c) subject to subregulation (4), that the candidate may amend that section or those sections of the candidate statement and resubmit the statement.

(3) For the purposes of subregulation (2), it is sufficient for the election manager to notify the candidate in accordance with the contact details provided by the candidate in the candidate's nomination form in accordance with regulation 24(2)(f).

(4) A candidate whose candidate statement is rejected by the election manager may, no later than 24 hours after the election manager notified the candidate under subregulation (2), resubmit the candidate statement to the election manager in accordance with regulation 38(3).

(5) A candidate who resubmits the candidate statement may only amend the section or sections of the statement referred to in subregulation (2)(b).