What does it mean for a political party to be 'deregistered'?

In Plain English

When a political party is "deregistered," it means it's officially removed from the government's list of recognized political parties. This can happen for a few reasons, like the party not having enough members, not endorsing candidates in elections for a long time, or even if the party was registered based on false information. Once deregistered, the party loses certain benefits, and it can't re-register under the same or a very similar name until after the next general election.

Detailed Explanation

Deregistration of a political party is covered under Part XI of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Here's a breakdown of the grounds and consequences:

Grounds for Deregistration:

  • Failure to Endorse Candidates: According to section 136, a registered political party is liable to deregistration if it has been registered for more than 4 years and has not endorsed a candidate for any election, or if 4 years have passed since the last election for which the party endorsed a candidate. The Electoral Commission is obligated to deregister the party in such cases.
  • Other Grounds (Section 137): The Electoral Commission may deregister a party if it is satisfied that:
    • The party has ceased to exist (e.g., through amalgamation).
    • The party, not being a Parliamentary party, does not have at least 1,500 members (as amended by the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Act 2021). Section 123A clarifies that the same member cannot be relied upon by more than one party to meet this requirement.
    • The party's registration was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation.
    • An objection against the continued use of a name or logo by a political party has been upheld under section 134A, and the party fails to change its name or logo accordingly.
    • The registered officer of a registered political party has failed to comply with a notice under section 138A (Review of eligibility of parties to remain in the Register).
    • A registered officer or deputy registered officer of a registered political party is failing to comply with subsection 126(2B) (person must not be registered officer etc. of more than one registered political party) as per Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 2016.
  • Voluntary Deregistration (Section 135): A party can apply to be deregistered.
  • Transitional arrangements Australian Capital Territory (Electoral) Amendment Act 1991 clause 15, outlines that a registered party is liable to de-registration if the party’s registered officer is the registered officer of 2 or more registered parties

Process of Deregistration:

  • Notice: Under section 137, if the Electoral Commission is considering deregistration on grounds other than failure to endorse candidates, it must give the registered officer written notice, including reasons for the potential deregistration. The Electoral Commissioner must also publish a notice on the Electoral Commission’s website and may publish it in other ways.
  • Statement in Response: The registered officer or 10 members of the party have one month to lodge a written statement explaining why the party should not be deregistered (section 137(2)).
  • Electoral Commission Decision: The Electoral Commission considers the statement and determines whether to deregister the party (section 137(5)).
  • Deregistration and Notice: If the Electoral Commission decides to deregister, it must deregister the party and provide written notice to the last registered officer, including reasons for the decision (section 137(6)). The Electoral Commissioner must publish a notice of the deregistration on the Electoral Commission’s website and may publish it in other ways (section 137(6A)).

Consequences of Deregistration:

  • Removal from Register: Section 138 states that the Electoral Commission must cancel the particulars related to the deregistered party on the Register.
  • Ineligibility for Registration: According to sections 135(3) and 136(2), the deregistered party, or a party with a confusingly similar name, cannot re-register until after the next general election.
  • Impact on Party Logos: The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 2016 introduced provisions related to party logos. Deregistration would result in the removal of the party's logo from the Register.