Information on objecting to an application for party registration

Registration and its benefits

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) provides for the registration of political parties. Registration is not compulsory, but parties achieve several benefits by being registered under the Electoral Act:

• registered political parties can have their name or abbreviation printed adjacent to their candidates' names on ballot papers;
• registered political parties can nominate a candidate using one person as a nominator (the Registered Officer) rather than 50 electors;
• registered political parties can request regular updates of the electoral roll and other electoral information; and
• registered political parties are paid any election funding due in proportion to the votes their candidates receive. For candidates not endorsed by registered political parties, any election funding is paid to the candidate.

Applications for registration

Political parties can apply for registration under the Electoral Act. The AEC examines each application and associated documents to assess if the party is entitled to registration under the provisions set out in the Electoral Act. The AEC then advertises the application in the press and the Commonwealth Gazette to allow any person a period of one month in which to object to the registration.

Grounds for objections to applications for registration

Objections are only considered if they are on grounds set out in the Electoral Act. Section 132 of the Electoral Act sets out the following permitted grounds for objection to an application for party registration:

• that the party is not eligible for registration (for eligibility requirements see ss.4 and 123 of the Electoral Act);
• that the technical requirements for an application have not been met (for the technical requirements see s.126 of the Electoral Act);
• that the party name must be refused (for party names that must be refused see s.129 of the Electoral Act).

The relevant sections of the Electoral Act are attached.

Method of lodging an objection

An objection must be in writing, signed by the objector, specify a street address for that objector and include the grounds for the objector's belief that the application for party registration should be refused.

An objection must be submitted within one month of the appearance of the advertisement in the press and can be:

mailed to the Electoral Commissioner

Australian Electoral Commission
PO Box 6172
Kingston ACT 2604

faxed to (02) 6271 4555
or emailed to fad@aec.gov.au

Processing of objections

The AEC will forward any objections received to the political party applying for registration to give it the opportunity to comment on them. The AEC then considers all relevant material and determines to register the political party or to refuse registration.

Both objectors and the party applying for registration will be advised of the AEC's decision and of their review rights. The AEC's decisions are also placed on this website and the reasons given.

Further information

Decisions of an AEC delegate to register or refuse registration are open to review by the three-person Australian Electoral Commission and in turn by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Further information on political party registration.

Party registration is administered by the Funding and Disclosure Section of the AEC, email fad@aec.gov.au, phone (02) 6271 4667, fax (02) 6271 4555.

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 – extracts relevant to an application for party registration

Part I – Preliminary

4 Interpretation

(1) In this Act unless the contrary intention appears:

Abbreviation of the name of a political party means a shortened version, or an acronym, of the party's name and does not include an alternative name of the party.

Organisation includes:

1. a body corporate;
2. an association or other body of persons;
3. an association that consists of 2 or more organisations within the meaning of the preceding paragraphs; and
4. a part of an organisation within the meaning of a preceding paragraph.

Part, in relation to an organisation, includes:

1. a branch or division of an organisation; and
2. a part of a part of an organisation.

Political party means an organisation the object or activity, or one of the objects or activities, of which is the promotion of the election to the Senate or to the House of Representatives of a candidate endorsed by it.

Registered political party means a political party that is registered under Part XI.

Register of Political Parties means the Register of Political Parties established under section 125.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, an organisation shall be taken to endorse a candidate in an election if a part of the organisation, or an organisation of which the first-mentioned organisation is a part, endorses the candidate in that election.

Part XI – Registration of political parties

123 Interpretation

(1) In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:

address does not include a postal address that consists of a post office box number.

Commission means the Electoral Commission.

eligible political party means a political party that:

1. either:
   1. is a Parliamentary party; or
   2. has at least 500 members; and
2. is established on the basis of a written constitution (however described) that sets out the aims of the party.

Parliamentary party means a political party at least one member of which is a member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.

secretary, in relation to a political party, means the person who holds the office (however described) the duties of which involve responsibility for the carrying out of the administration, and for the conduct of the correspondence, of the party.

(2) For the purposes of this Part, 2 political parties shall be taken to be related if:

1. one is a part of the other; or
2. both are parts of the same political party.

(3) A reference in this Part to a member of a political party is a reference to a person who is both:

1. a member of the political party or a related political party; and
2. entitled to enrolment under this Act.

126 Application for registration

(1) An application for the registration of an eligible political party may be made to the Commission by:

1. in the case of a Parliamentary party:
   1. the secretary of the party; or
   2. the member, or all the members, of the Commonwealth Parliament who is a member, or who are members, of the party; or
2. in the case of a political party other than a Parliamentary party—10 members of the party, of whom one is the secretary of the party.

However, where a member of a Parliamentary party:

3. who is a member of the Commonwealth Parliament; and
4. who has previously made an application for the registration of that Parliamentary party (the first party);

makes an application for the registration of another party, the Commission must not proceed with the application for the registration of that other party unless the Commission is satisfied that the member is no longer a member of the first party. If the Commission is so satisfied, the Commission must take any action required by section 136 immediately.

(2) An application for the registration of an eligible political party shall be in writing, signed by the applicant or applicants and by the person who is to be the registered officer of the party, and shall:

1. set out the name of the party;
2. if the party wishes to be able to use for the purposes of this Act an abbreviation of its name—set out that abbreviation;
3. set out the name and address of the person who is to be the registered officer of the party for the purposes of this Act;
   1. include a list of the names of the 500 members of the party to be relied on for the purposes of registration;
4. state whether or not the party wishes to receive moneys under Division 3 of Part XX;
5. set out the name and address of the applicant or the names and addresses of the applicants and particulars of the capacity in which the applicant or each applicant makes the application; and
6. be accompanied by a copy of the constitution of the party; and
7. be accompanied by a fee of $500.

(2A) Two or more parties cannot rely on the same member for the purpose of qualifying or continuing to qualify as an eligible political party. The following provisions apply accordingly:

1. a member who is relied on by 2 or more parties may nominate the party entitled to rely on the member, but if a party is not nominated after the Commission has given the member at least 30 days to do so, the member is not entitled to be relied on by any of those parties;
2. the members on whom a registered party relies may be changed at any time by an amendment of the Register of Political Parties;
3. the registration of a party is not to be cancelled because of this subsection unless the Commission has taken action to determine whether the party should be deregistered because of paragraph 137(1)(a), (b) or (c).

(3) Upon receipt of an application for the registration of a political party, the Commission shall deal with the application in accordance with this Part and determine whether the party can be registered.

129 Parties with certain names not to be registered

(1) The Commission shall refuse an application for the registration of a political party if, in its opinion, the name of the party or the abbreviation of its name that it wishes to be able to use for the purposes of this Act (if any):

1. comprises more than 6 words;
2. is obscene;
3. is the name, or is an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of another political party (not being a political party that is related to the party to which the application relates) that is a recognised political party;
4. so nearly resembles the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of another political party (not being a political party that is related to the party to which the application relates) that is a recognised political party that it is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that name or that abbreviation or acronym, as the case may be; or
   1. is one that a reasonable person would think suggests that a connection or relationship exists between the party and a registered party if that connection or relationship does not in fact exist; or
5. (e) comprises the words "Independent Party" or comprises or contains the word "Independent" and:
   1. the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a recognised political party; or
   2. matter that so nearly resembles the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a recognised political party that the matter is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that name or that abbreviation or acronym, as the case may be.

(2) In this section:

recognised political party means a political party that is:

1. a Parliamentary party; or
2. a registered party; or
3. registered or recognised for the purposes of the law of a State or a Territory relating to elections and that has endorsed a candidate, under the party's current name, in an election for the Parliament of the State or Assembly of the Territory in the previous 5 years.

131 Variation of application

(1) Where, after initial consideration of an application for the registration of a political party, the Commission is of the opinion that it is required to refuse the application but that the applicant or applicants might be prepared to vary the application in such a way that it would not be so required, the Commission shall give the applicant or applicants written notice that it is of that opinion, setting out the reasons for its opinion and the terms of the provisions of subsections (2) and (3).

(2) Where notice is given under subsection (1) in relation to an application, the Commission is not required to give further consideration to the application unless and until notice is lodged with it under subsection (3).

(3) Where notice is given under subsection (1) in relation to an application for the registration of a political party, the applicant or applicants may lodge with the Commission a written request, signed by the applicant or applicants, to:

1. vary the application in a manner specified in the request; or
2. proceed with the application in the form in which it was lodged;

and the Commission shall comply with the request.

(4) If a request is made under subsection (3) to vary an application, the application as varied is to be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were a new application.

132 Procedure for dealing with application

(1) If:

1. an application for registration is lodged with the Commission; and
2. the Commission does not give a notice under subsection 131(1) in respect of that application;

the Commission must, as soon as practicable, publish in the Gazette and in each State and Territory in a newspaper circulating generally in that State or Territory a notice of the application.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) in relation to an application shall:

1. set out the particulars specified in the application in accordance with subsection 126(2); and
2. invite any persons who believe that the application:
   1. does not relate to an eligible political party;
   2. is not in accordance with section 126; or
   4. should be refused under section 129;
   to submit written particulars of the grounds for that belief to the Commission within 1 month after the date of the publication of the notice in the Gazette.

(3) Particulars submitted by a person under subsection (2) shall be signed by, and specify an address of, that person.

(4) Particulars submitted under paragraph (2)(b) shall, as soon as practicable, be made available at the principal office of the Commission in Canberra for inspection by members of the public.

(5) The Commission shall:

1. give a copy of all of the particulars (if any) submitted under paragraph (2)(b) to the person who is to be the registered officer of the party concerned; and
2. at the same time, give to the person a notice inviting the person to submit a reply to the particulars to the Commission within the time specified in the notice.

(6) A reply submitted under subsection (5) shall, as soon as practicable, be made available at the principal office of the Commission in Canberra for inspection by members of the public.

(7) The Commission shall not register a political party unless:

1. it has published notice of the application for registration in accordance with this section;
2. a period of at least one month has elapsed after the date of publication of notice of the application in the Gazette;
3. where particulars have been submitted under paragraph (2)(b), either:
   1. the time specified in a notice under subsection (5) has expired; or
   2. a reply to the particulars has been received; and
4. the Commission has considered those particulars (if any) and any reply to the particulars.

133 Registration

(1) Where the Commission determines that a political party an application for the registration of which has been made should be registered, it shall:

1. register the party by entering in the Register:
   1. the name of the party;
   2. if an abbreviation of the name of the party was set out in the application—that abbreviation;
   3. the name and address of the person who has been nominated as the registered officer of the party for the purposes of this Act; and
   4. where the party has in its application stated that it wishes to receive moneys under Division 3 of Part XX—a statement indicating that the party so wishes;
2. give written notice to the applicant or applicants that it has registered the party;
3. if any person or persons submitted particulars in response to the invitation referred to in paragraph 132(2)(b) in relation to the application—give written notice to that person or those persons that it has registered the party, setting out in the notice to each person the reasons for rejecting the reasons particulars of which were so submitted by the person; and
4. publish in the Gazette notice of the registration of the party.

(2) Where a statement is entered in the Register that a political party wishes to receive moneys under Division 3 of Part XX, that party shall, for the purposes of Part XX, be taken to have been registered for public funding.

(3) Where the Commission determines that an application for the registration of a political party should be refused, it shall give the applicant or applicants written notice that it has refused the application, setting out the reasons for its so refusing.