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Outlaw Misinformation in Federal Political Advertising
- Mira Healey
- May 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 18
Author: Mira Healey | Supporting Author: Lisa Robey | Publish date: 02/05/2025
Problem Identification:
In Australia, federal political advertising does not have to be truthful.
The Australia Institute observes that, at a federal level, there is no legislation that prohibits the publication of political advertisements that are deceptive or misleading.
This means that political advertisements at the Federal level can lawfully disseminate misleading or deceptive claims, potentially influencing voter decisions.
Context:
Political advertising is one of the few sectors in Australia not regulated by any kind of misinformation laws for federal elections and campaigns.
Australia Institute research found in June of 2022 that 3 in 4 voters (73%) “came across political advertisements that they knew to be misleading, with most seeing at least one such advertisement a week during the campaign”.
Further, Daniel Angus and Mark Andrejevic highlight that social media and AI have compounded this issue by introducing ‘deepfake’ advertisements, which can easily and realistically simulate politicians. This may make it harder for voters to distinguish real claims from misleading ones.
The Australia Institute recommends that the Federal Parliament introduce laws to prohibit misinformation in political advertising. They suggest it could be modelled after SA’s Electoral Act 1985 (SA). Section 113 awards the state’s Electoral Commissioner the power to monitor and withdraw misleading political advertising. In the decades since its introduction, this legislation has garnered strong public support and has been met with widespread compliance. The Australia Institute believes this reform could “introduce a measure of fairness and accountability to the political process” and may prevent election campaigns from becoming overrun with deceptive and misleading information, which they say could lead to greater public trust in politics across Australia. They state that this reform has support from over 80% of Australians.
There is domestic and international precedent for adopting laws against misinformation in political advertising. For example, both in SA and the ACT. Further, in Ireland, the Electoral Commission has the power to report and block misleading political advertising, and in Canada, there are laws against the publication of false statements about a political candidate during election periods.
Solution Identification:
Introduce legislation to outlaw misleading political advertising at the federal level, modelled on Section 113 of the Electoral Act 1985 (SA).
This could better regulate the content of political advertising, which may help increase public trust in the politics across Australia.
Advice:
The Attorney General should introduce legislation to outlaw misleading political advertising modelled on Section 113 of the Electoral Act 1985 (SA), at the next opportunity.
Public Support:
Where to go to learn more:
The Australia Institute - provides detailed research and advocacy for truth in political advertising laws. Visit The Australia Institute
Misleading and false election ads are legal in Australia. We need national truth in political advertising laws by Dr Yee-Fui Ng - read the full article on misleading political advertising in Australia here
Why don't political advertisements have to tell the truth? By The Daily Aus - Read the full article here
Are politicians required to tell the truth? By The Daily Aus - Listen to it here
South Australia’s legislation - Read the full act here
Human Perspective:
During the last election, Emily was swayed by a political ad that she thought looked genuine and seemed to align with her values. She trusted it and thought she was making an informed choice. However, after the election, she realised the ad had misled her, leading her to vote for a representative who she now thinks doesn’t truly represent her views. With the next election approaching, Emily feels uneasy and worried she might fall for misleading ads again. Especially with the rise of AI and deepfakes, making it harder to tell what’s real. Her trust in the political process has been shaken. Yet with the new federal law banning misleading political ads, Emily feels a renewed sense of confidence. Stricter regulations mean candidates and parties face penalties for false claims, thereby giving her hope she can finally rely on truthful messages when making her vote count.
To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences, and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:
N/a.
Support
If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com.
Reference list:
Angus, D. (2025, February 28). ‘Dark Ads’ Challenge Truth and Democracy in Australia. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/dark-ads-challenge-truth-and-democracy-in-australia/
Australian Communications and Media Authority. (2020). Online misinformation. ACMA. https://www.acma.gov.au/online-misinformation
Australian Electoral Commission (2025). AEC encourages lawful & respectful campaigning. https://www.aec.gov.au/media/2025/03-31.htm
Beck, L. (2023, July 9). Why is it legal to tell lies during the Voice referendum campaign? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-legal-to-tell-lies-during-the-voice-referendum-campaign-209211
Browne, B. (2019, August). We can handle the truth: Opportunities for truth in political advertising. The Australia Institute. https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/P751-We-can-handle-the-truth-Web_0.pdf
Browne, B., & Shields, T. (2022). Fortifying Australian democracy: Submission to the inquiry into the 2022 election. The Australia Institute. https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/P1267-Australia-Institute-Fortifying-Australian-democracy-Web.pdf
Electoral Act 1985, (SA).
Evans, J. (2024, September 7). Senator David Pocock creates AI deepfakes of Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton to call for ban ahead of election. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-07/david-pocock-creates-ai-deepfake-of-albanese/104323688
Jensen, M. (2022, April 29). Here’s how disinformation could disrupt the Australian election. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/heres-how-disinformation-could-disrupt-the-australian-election-177629
Ng, Y.-F. (2024, September 17). Truth in political advertising laws: operation and effectiveness. Susan McKinnon Foundation. https://www.susanmckinnon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SMF-Truth-in-Political-Advertising-Interim-Report-17-September-2024-version.pdf
Ng, Y.-F. (2025, February 7). Misleading and false election ads are legal in Australia. We need national truth in political advertising laws. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/misleading-and-false-election-ads-are-legal-in-australia-we-need-national-truth-in-political-advertising-laws-249279
Simpson, E. (2024, November 6). Truth in political advertising: Implementation. The Australia Institute. https://australiainstitute.org.au/initiative/truth-in-political-advertising/implementation/
The Electoral Commission. (2024). Claims made in campaign material. https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/campaigning-your-vote/claims-made-campaign-material
Stobart, A. & Griffiths, K. (2022, April 14) Explainer: The rules (or lack thereof) for political advertising. The Grattan Institute. https://grattan.edu.au/news/the-rules-or-lack-thereof-for-political-advertising/
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