Following the repeal of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 on 1 March 2009, the information in this page has been superseded.  It is left here for completeness.

Listing as a third party was a requirement for Election '08.  It is no longer necessary or possible.

If you or your group are not standing for election, but plan on spending more than $12,000 (inc GST) between 1 January 2008 and election day (no later than Saturday, 15 November 2008) on advertisements encouraging or persuading electors to vote, or not to vote, for a candidate(s), party(ies), or type of party or candidate then you must apply for listing as a third party. 

You may not spend more than $120,000 (inc GST). The listing threshold is $1,000 (inc GST) and the spending limit is $4,000 if your campaign is concerned with an electorate candidate, rather than a party.

This summarises provisions of the Electoral Finance Act 2007, particularly: Part 1 (Meaning of election advertisement, Appointments, Listing of Third Parties); Part 2 (General rules…, Third parties’ election expenses). You should also review provisions relating to donations, liabilities, and penalties for offences.

Making an application

An application must be made by: the individual who wants to be a listed third party, a person authorised by the governing body of an incorporated or unincorporated body, or a representative of an unincorporated body who is, or appears to be, authorised to apply.

The application form available for download, at right, is of three pages and collects information about the party and applicant, appointment of a financial agent, and a statutory declaration by the applicant of the third party’s eligibility to be listed and of the applicant's authority to make the application.

Third parties will be listed on this website.

Eligibility to be third party

Section 13 of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 states:

(1) A person is eligible to be listed as a third party if the person is –

(a) a New Zealand citizen or ordinarily resident in New Zealand; or

(b) a body corporate that is not an overseas person with the meaning of the Overseas Investment Act 2005; or

(c) an unincorporated body of which the majority of its members are persons described in paragraph (a).

(2) The following are ineligible to be a third party:

(a) a party other than a non-contesting party;

(b) a [constituency] candidate;

(c) a [list candidate];

(d) the financial agent of a party or candidate

(e) each of the following persons or bodies:

(i) the chief executive (however described) of a department of State or Crown entity;

(ii) a department of State;

(iii) a Crown entity;

(iv) a State enterprise (within the meaning of section 2 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986) or a Crown-owned company;

(v) any other instrument of the Crown;

(f) a person involved in the administration of –

(i) the affairs of a party; or

(ii) the affairs of a candidate in relation to his or her election campaign.

(3) For the purposes of this section a non-contesting party is a [registered political] party that-

(a) is listed as a third party under section 19 (being a party that has submitted a non-contest declaration under section 16(4); or

(b) has submitted a non-contest declaration under section 16(4) and is awaiting a decision on whether it is to be listed as a third party under section 19.

Eligibility to be financial agent

Section 9 of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 specifies:

A person is eligible to be appointed as a financial agent … if the person

(a) is a registered elector; and

(b) is resident in New Zealand; and

(c) has not been convicted of –

(i) a crime involving dishonesty (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Crimes Act 1961); or

(ii) a corrupt practice under this Act or the Electoral Act 1993; and

(d) is not an undischarged bankrupt; and

(e) is not ineligible to be a director of a company under section 151(2) of the Companies Act 1993.

Grounds on which listing must be refused

The Electoral Commission must list a third party unless the application or statutory declaration are incorrect, or it is no satisfied, on the basis of the application, that the applicant is eligible to be listed, or name is offensive, likely to cause confusion with the name of a candidate or a party, or likely to mislead the public.  In these cases the commission must refuse listing.