One Nation could collect up to $633,000 from Victorian election candidates

One Nation could collect up to A$633,000 from candidates seeking to contest Victoria’s state election, scheduled for November. Several former mayors, deputy mayors and councillors who applied said they were rejected after interviews.

Applicants were required to pay a non-refundable A$150 fee. One Nation said 1,209 people expressed interest in running and about 220 reached the final stage; if all paid the fee, the party would receive approximately A$33,000.

Applicants were also expected to hold party membership. At the minimum annual fee of A$60, that could generate another A$72,000. Those selected as candidates were told they would need to contribute A$5,500 of their own money to their campaigns.

Candidate contributions and projected total

An estimated 88 lower-house candidates and eight upper-house candidates could provide the party with A$528,000 in campaign contributions. Combined with application and membership payments, the potential total is A$633,000.

Aidan McLindon, a political consultant who worked with One Nation in Victoria last year, described the process as appearing designed to generate money and said the party was focusing disproportionately on profits rather than policy. Some applicants also questioned whether the selection was genuinely open: interviews lasted 15 minutes, and candidates were required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Some applicants alleged that upper-house candidates were effectively chosen by the party’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering. A complaint letter from a former mayor said applicants felt they had been misled and used.

A One Nation spokesperson said the party used a nominal cost-recovery model for police and other checks on nominees. The spokesperson said all candidate fees had been paid into the Victorian state campaign account in line with Victorian Electoral Commission rules, and that application fees and campaign contributions were standard requirements among Australia’s major parties.

The report also said One Nation could receive up to A$10m through Victoria’s public electoral funding scheme. The source did not confirm whether the party would receive that amount.