Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

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

in the case of a Parliamentary party:

the secretary of the party; or

the member, or all the members, of the Commonwealth Parliament who is a member, or who are members, of the party; or

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.

who is a member of the Commonwealth Parliament; and

who has previously made an application for the registration of that Parliamentary party (the first party);

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:

set out the name of the party; and

if the party wishes to be able to use for the purposes of this Act an abbreviation of its name—set out that abbreviation; and

if the party wishes a logo of the party to be entered in the Register—set out a copy of a logo; and

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; and

for an eligible political party that is not a Parliamentary party—include a list of the names of the 1,500 members of the party to be relied on for the purposes of registration; and

state whether or not the party wishes to receive moneys under Division 3 of Part XX; and

set out details of each federal account (within the meaning of Part XX) of the party; and

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

be accompanied by a copy of the constitution of the party; and

be accompanied by a fee of $500.

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(ba), a logo set out in an application must:

be in black and white; and

meet any other requirements determined under subsection (2AB).

For the purposes of paragraph (2AA)(b), the Electoral Commissioner may, by legislative instrument, determine requirements in relation to setting out a logo in an application.

A person must not, at a particular time, be:

the registered officer of more than one registered political party; or

a deputy registered officer of more than one registered political party; or

the registered officer of one registered political party and a deputy registered officer of another registered political party.

The registered officer of a registered political party may be changed at any time under paragraph 134(1)(g).

Subsection (2B) does not prevent a person from being both:

the registered officer or a deputy registered officer of a registered political party for the purposes of this Act; and

the registered officer or a deputy registered officer (however described), for the purposes of an Act of a State or Territory or an Ordinance of an external Territory, of a political party or a branch of a political party.

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

The Electoral Commission may also decide under section 129A to refuse to enter a logo of the political party in the Register.