South Australia has become the first state to outlaw robocalls, robopolls, and AI-generated deepfake political advertisements, under a new set of electoral reforms introduced ahead of the March 2026 election.
The laws, part of the second phase of the Government’s electoral reform package, make it illegal for political parties, candidates, members of Parliament, or their agents to use unsolicited automated calls containing pre-recorded election messages. Robopolling—automated computer-driven opinion polling—is now banned under the same provisions. Individuals caught breaching these laws face fines of up to $5,000, while organisations could be hit with penalties of up to $10,000.
The legislation also targets deepfake election advertising. It is now illegal to create or distribute AI-generated political ads that falsely depict a person performing actions or making statements they did not authorise. Offenders could face fines of up to $5,000. Any AI-generated political material must clearly identify itself as such, even if consent is given by the person depicted.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the measures were designed to protect South Australian democracy from emerging digital threats. “This Government is committed to strengthening South Australia’s democracy, and ensuring South Australians can have confidence in the electoral process,” he said. “Our world-leading ban on political donations was just the beginning of this robust suite of reforms aimed to protect and strengthen our democracy.”
Mr Maher said the rise of manipulated digital content presented new dangers for voters. “One thing that is becoming more apparent by the day is that we need to be on our guard to protect against misinformation online, and our laws banning the use of misleading deepfakes in political advertising is an important step in keeping up with this technology.”
The reforms go further than digital restrictions. They also ban political interference in the postal voting process, introduce new offences for disruptive behaviour at election events, and grant election officers stronger powers to maintain order. Penalties of up to $5,000 will apply for non-compliance.
“These reforms also address the growing frustration among the public with political robocalls,” Mr Maher said. “We know that South Australians are sick and tired of political robocalls, which are becoming all too frequent. Our reforms mean that political robocalls and robopolls are now banned for state elections.”
The changes follow the Government’s earlier donation reforms, which came into effect on 1 July. Under those rules, all political donations to registered parties, MPs, candidates, or groups are banned. To encourage fair participation, limited exemptions exist for new entrants and non-incumbents, who may accept donations capped at $5,000 per individual.
Violations of the donation ban carry severe penalties, including fines of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years.
The Government says work continues on further updates to modernise the Electoral Act before the 2026 election, with the overall goal of ensuring transparency, accountability, and public trust in the political process.
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