Mary-Kate Louis

Under the Victorian Electoral Commission's current rules (Electoral Act 2002, as amended by the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026; see vec.vic.gov.au/candidates-and-parties/funding/funding-for-independent-candidates, accessed 2026-08-23), she would become eligible for public election funding only if she receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in Pakenham or is elected outright; the payable amount is then calculated from her audited statement of election expenditure, her vote count, and the legislated maximum funding amounts.

This 4%-or-elected eligibility test was unaffected by the 2026 donation-cap overhaul that followed the High Court's Hopper v Victoria ruling (which struck down Part 12 of the Electoral Act on 15 April 2026 and prompted reintroduced donation-disclosure and cap provisions) — it remains the current, unchanged funding test as published by the VEC.

Any public funding she received would not be paid to her personally: VEC rules (vec.vic.gov.au/candidates-and-parties/funding/state-campaign-account) require all public funding to be paid into a state campaign account, a requirement that applies to independent candidates just as it does to registered parties.