There are two types of political party – Parliamentary and non-Parliamentary.

• A Parliamentary party is any political party with an elected Member of the House of Representatives or Senator.
• A non-Parliamentary party doesn’t have a sitting Member of Parliament or Senator

A registered political party can list its name (or abbreviation) alongside the name of any of its candidates on House of Representatives and Senate ballot papers. The party’s registered logo can also be shown on the ballot paper. Registered parties also have entitlements to electoral roll data.

To register as a political party, a group must apply in writing to the AEC.

The application must include details of the name, structure, officers of the proposed party, and a fee of $500.

To register a non-parliamentary party, the application must also contain a list of names of 1,500 members of the party that support its registration.

After receiving an application, the AEC is required to assess the application against strict requirements laid out in the Electoral Act.

It is a requirement of the Electoral Act for any non-Parliamentary party to provide a list of members as part of the application process.

The AEC requires proposed non-Parliamentary parties to provide the AEC with a list of between 1,500 and 1,650 members who are enrolled to vote. The AEC checks this list against the Electoral Roll and contacts a random sample of the membership list to confirm that they are genuine members of the proposed party. If the AEC is satisfied that the proposed party has the support of 1,500 enrolled members, the membership test is successful, and the party’s registration moves to the next stage.

All information collected by the AEC is held in line with the AEC’s Privacy Policy. Under this policy, the AEC may only use and disclose collected information, including personal information, for the purpose for which it was collected.

The AEC does not disclose or publish membership lists as part of the process of registering a party, or as part of a review of a registered party.

The AEC does not disclose membership information unless required to do so by law, for example under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (subject to the application of any exemptions and consultation requirements contained therein), the Privacy Act 1988, or under a validly issued warrant.

The process takes a minimum of three months for those applications that have a successfully tested membership list, so the AEC’s advice to groups intending to register as a political party is to allow plenty of time for the process to be properly completed, particularly when applying close to the likely timeframe for the next federal election.

If a membership list needs to be revised the process will take much longer. The total time to process will largely be determined by the time it takes for the applicant to provide a new list to the AEC.

The Electoral Act requires the AEC to stop assessing party registration applications once a writ has been issued for a federal election or by-election. If an application cannot be assessed before a writ is issued, the political party cannot be registered for that election.

Yes. Candidates of an unregistered party would be required to nominate as an independent candidate and the party’s name would not appear on the ballot paper.

Regardless of whether a party is registered or not, all political entities are subject to the same electoral laws around financial disclosure, the authorisation of political communication, and restrictions on foreign donations.

Not without consent from the party that was first registered with that name.

While some exceptions exist around common words, collective nouns and the names of people and places, the intent of the legislation is to minimise the risk of parties with similar names confusing or misleading voters.

There are occasions when the AEC is required by law to refuse an application to register a political party. The legislative reasons for refusal broadly include, if a proposed party’s name or logo is obscene, frivolous, or vexatious, is likely to be confused with that of a previously registered party or suggests a connection with a previously registered party that doesn‘t exist. The legislation does not provide the AEC with any discretion.

The AEC has no scope to consider the following when registering a political party:

• The proposed party’s political focus, policies, or ideology.
• Concerns about the proposed party raised by law enforcement or national security agencies.
• Whether the proposed party’s office holders or members hold criminal convictions.

Yes. Any person or organisation can raise an objection to a political party being registered.

The AEC will advertise the party registration application on the AEC website and in newspapers around the country. There is a one-month period in which a person or organisation can lodge an objection to the registration of a party.

What are grounds for an objection to a political party being registered?

The Electoral Act outlines the only grounds on which the AEC can consider objections, including:

• the application does not relate to an eligible political party
• the application does not accord with all the requirements in the Electoral Act.
• the name or abbreviation of the party is prohibited
• the logo is prohibited

The AEC has no scope to consider the following as grounds for objection:

• The proposed party’s political focus, policies, or ideology.
• Concerns about the proposed party raised by law enforcement or national security agencies.
• Whether the proposed party’s office holders or members hold criminal convictions.

Yes.

Any individual who is dissatisfied with the decision can ask for it to be reviewed. This request must occur within 28 days of the decision being made. This review is conducted by the three-person Electoral Commission.

To request a review of a party registration decision made by the three-person Electoral Commission, an application may be made to the Administrative Review Tribunal (the ART). More information on how to apply to the ART and any applicable fees can be found on its website: www.art.gov.au.

Yes. There are a few ways in which a party can be deregistered, but the two most common ways are: at their own request, or as the result of an AEC review.

The AEC conducts party registration reviews, and may de-register a party on the following grounds:

• the party has ceased to exist;
• the original registration was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;
• a non-Parliamentary party has failed to endorse candidates for a federal election for a period of four years;
• the registered officer did not comply with a review notice;
• the party has fewer than 1,500 members and no parliamentary members.

The AEC will publish the name of any parties it is considering deregistering and deregistration decisions. Parties are entitled to provide the AEC with reasons as to why their party should not be deregistered. A deregistered party may apply to be re-registered at any point.

When a party voluntarily deregisters, the Electoral Act prohibits that party or a prospective party wishing to use its name (or a similar name) from registering as a political party until after the next general election following the party’s deregistration.

No. Registration as a political party is voluntary.

No.

The Electoral Act defines the criteria the AEC uses to determine whether to register a political party. Legislation is set by the Parliament. The AEC’s role is to follow the law as it is written.

If an individual has concerns about a law or have suggestions for how the law could be changed, they can contact their local Member or a Senator who represents their state or territory. The Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters also regularly holds inquiries about electoral laws.