What happens to a political party if they don't endorse any candidates for a long time?

In Plain English

If a registered political party hasn't endorsed a candidate in any election for over four years, or if it's been four years since they last endorsed someone, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 says the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has to deregister the party. The AEC will then let the party's registered officer know in writing and publish the deregistration on their website. After deregistration, the party, or any new party with a confusingly similar name, can't register again until after the next federal election. This rule doesn't apply to Parliamentary parties.

Detailed Explanation

According to section 136 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, a registered political party is liable to deregistration under the following circumstances:

• If the party has been registered for more than four years and has not endorsed a candidate for any election during that time (subsection 136(1)(aa)).
• If four years have passed since the polling day of the last election for which the party endorsed a candidate (subsection 136(1)(a)).

When a party becomes liable for deregistration, the Electoral Commission is required to:

• Deregister the party (subsection 136(1A)(a)).
• Provide written notice of the deregistration to the party's registered officer (subsection 136(1A)(b)).
• Publish notice of the deregistration on the Electoral Commission's website, and may also publish it in any other way the Electoral Commissioner considers appropriate (subsection 136(1B)).

Furthermore, subsection 136(2) states that a party deregistered under these conditions, or any party with a name that closely resembles the deregistered party's name, is ineligible for registration until after the general election following the deregistration. However, subsection 136(3) specifies that these deregistration rules do not apply to Parliamentary parties.