On 10 December 2025, Mr Rodney Culleton was sentenced after being convicted in September of the offence of giving false or misleading information to the Australian Electoral Commission.
The order, issued during a sentencing hearing in Perth Magistrates Court, means that he is to be of good behaviour for two years and six months, or he will forfeit a $10,000 bond. He was also ordered to pay court costs of $12,086.80.
Mr Culleton's conviction relates to the 2022 federal election, at which time he nominated as a candidate for the Senate. Mr Culleton's candidate nomination form declared that he was not an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent, despite being listed on the National Personal Insolvency Register as an undischarged bankrupt at the time.
Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said the sentencing sets a precedent that will discourage candidates from providing misleading declarations to the AEC at future elections.
"This is an important outcome for maintaining the integrity of our electoral process," Mr Pope said.
"Nominating as a candidate at a federal election is a serious undertaking, and Australians expect their political candidates to take it seriously."
"Yesterday's judgment demonstrates that providing false information on candidate nomination forms has consequences."
Mr Pope thanked the Australian Federal Police for their hard work investigating the case after the AEC's referral of the matter in 2022.
Background
- In April of 2025, Mr Culleton once again nominated as a candidate despite still being listed as an undischarged bankrupt. The AEC has referred this matter to the Australian Federal Police for further action. The AEC's statement on the matter is available here .
- The AEC's 2025 statement uses the surname Cullerton for this individual, rather than Culleton. This reflects the name the individual was enrolled as and the name used to nominate at the 2025 federal election.
- A statement on the original referral of Mr Culleton to the Australian Federal Police in 2022 is available here .
- The Commonwealth Electoral Act does not give the AEC the power to reject a fully completed candidate nomination, regardless of whether any answer provided is false.
- The AEC's Electoral Backgrounder on Constitutional disqualification
