A person who puts themselves forward to contest an election for a seat in a federal, state, or territory parliament. In Australia, anyone may initially declare an intention to stand for election, but achieving the status of an official candidate requires satisfying a formal set of criteria administered by the relevant electoral authority — the Australian Electoral Commission at the federal level, or the equivalent state or territory electoral commission. To be eligible to stand as an official candidate, a person must generally be an Australian citizen, be at least 18 years of age, be enrolled on the electoral roll, and not be disqualified under the relevant electoral legislation (for example, by holding an undisclosed dual citizenship, being of unsound mind, or serving a prison sentence of a certain length). Candidates must formally nominate within the nomination period specified in the election writ, and are required to pay a nomination deposit — which is refunded if the candidate receives a minimum threshold of first-preference votes, a safeguard designed to deter frivolous nominations. Candidates may stand as the endorsed representative of a registered political party, in which case their party's name appears alongside theirs on the ballot paper, or they may stand as an independent, with no party affiliation shown. Party-endorsed candidates are typically required to have been through their party's internal preselection process before they can be officially nominated under the party's banner. Until the relevant electoral authority formally declares a person an official candidate — typically at the close of the nomination period — their candidacy has no legal standing, regardless of how publicly they may have announced their intention to stand. This distinction between a prospective or declared candidate and an official candidate is significant: only official candidates appear on the ballot paper, are entitled to certain electoral entitlements, and are subject to the full obligations of electoral law, including campaign finance disclosure requirements.