Activities not included in campaign spending are:1
local newsletters about elected representatives or prospective candidates
material sent only to your members
expenses met out of public funds. For example, security costs for VIP visits
permanent, fixed term or temporary staff costs where the staff member has a direct employment contract with the party
people’s travel, food and accommodation costs while they campaign, unless you reimburse them
reasonable expenses attributable to the protection of persons or property, at rallies or other public events – for example hiring security at a party campaign rally2
Reasonable costs attributable to an individual’s disability (including candidates, party staff and volunteers, or voters) – for example, providing a party canvasser with a sight disability specialist equipment or dual screens to assist them in telephone canvassing, or a sign language interpreter at a campaign event
Any reasonable costs relating to translating to another language from English – for example, hiring a translator to translate campaign material from English into any other language
anything which a candidate properly declares on their spending return5
anything which a registered recall petition campaigner properly declares on their spending return6
regional party list candidates’ deposits
postage costs relating to the free election address promoting the party or regional party list candidates
Volunteer time
Sometimes you may not be sure if someone is a volunteer or if their time should be treated as notional spending. For example, they may offer similar services professionally to the ones they are performing for you.
They will be a volunteer if:
their employer is not paying them for the time they spend on your campaign, or
they are using their annual leave, or
where they are self-employed, you won't benefit from any professional insurances they hold
If they use specialist equipment or materials, you should consider whether their use is notional spending.