Party Registration Guide

This reference guide is provided for the convenience of users of this guide, who should note that other legislation and other sections of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act), together with legal precedents, may be relevant to the interpretation and application of Part XI of the Electoral Act which provides for registration of political parties.

Users should therefore seek professional legal advice on compliance and other issues that may arise.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is able to provide guidance on its approach to the administration of the party registration provisions but is not able to provide legal advice generally. Information about how to obtain a copy of the Electoral Act, or to contact the AEC, is provided in the introduction to this guide.

Printable version of the Party Registration Guide [PDF 747KB]

Contents

• Party registration process
• Introduction
• Registration of political parties – overview
• Party name selection
• Office bearers
• Develop a party constitution
• Party membership
• Complete the application
• Processing your application
• The Registers
• Recognised State and Territory branches
• Reviews of party registration
• Changes to the Registers
• Appeals
• Election funding and financial disclosure
• Forms available for use in party registration

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© Commonwealth of Australia 2011.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au.

The Australian Electoral Commission asserts the right to be recognised as author of the original material in the following manner:

or

© Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Electoral Commission) 2011.

Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of this document are welcome at:

Assistant Commissioner, Education and Communications

Australian Electoral Commission
PO Box 6172
Kingston ACT 2604
Email: info@aec.gov.au

Contact the AEC about party registration at: Party Registration Unit Australian Electoral Commission

In person:
West Block Offices
Queen Victoria Terrace
Parkes ACT 2600

By mail:
PO Box 6172
Kingston ACT 2604

Or

Phone: 02 6271 4667
Fax: 02 6271 4555
Email: fad@aec.gov.au
Web: www.aec.gov.au