Organic material

If you have not paid for the digital material to be published as an advert – for example, you just posted it on your own social media – then it is organic material.

Organic material must include an imprint if it is both:

  • published by or on behalf of a relevant entity
  • any of:
    • election material
    • referendum material
    • recall petition material

These concepts are explained below.

Relevant entities

The relevant entities are:

  • a registered party
  • a registered non-party campaigner
  • a candidate or future candidate
  • an elected office-holder
  • a registered referendum campaigner
  • a registered recall petition campaigner

If someone is not a relevant entity, and they publish organic material on their own behalf, then the material does not require an imprint.

Organic material published by or on behalf of a relevant entity must include an imprint, even if they have not paid for it to be published, if it is any of:

  • election material
  • referendum material
  • recall petition material

Unlike in relation to paid adverts, the three kinds of organic material which require an imprint are all related to specific electoral events. Organic material is therefore more likely to need an imprint during the campaigns leading up to these events.

Last updated: 2 November 2023