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Register a political party

Registering your party allows:

  • your party to have its own dedicated column on the ballot paper. Your nominated candidates are listed under the party name or abbreviation.
  • you to lodge your party's candidate nominations for ACT Legislative Assembly elections in bulk.

Read about ballot papers.

Registered parties have reporting and disclosure obligations. Parties must submit annual and election returns as well as regular gift disclosures. These returns outline the party's expenditure, funding, receipts and debts.

Read about funding and disclosure.

To register a political party for ACT Legislative Assembly elections you need to lodge an application with the ACT Electoral Commissioner.

When to apply

You can apply at any time, but to participate in an upcoming election, your application must be made before 1 July in the election year.

Apply to register a political party

To register a political party:

  1. Read the 'How to register a political party for ACT Legislative Assembly elections' - fact sheet
  2. Complete the Application to register a political party for ACT Legislative Assembly elections form [PDF 217KB] .
  3. Send the form along with the party's constitution and your list of at least 100 party members who are enrolled in the ACT to the ACT Electoral Commission:
    • by email to elections@act.gov.au
    • in person at Elections ACT, Nara Centre, 3 Constitution Ave, Canberra.

Registration requirements

To register a political party, you must provide certain documentation.

Application form

You need to complete the application form in full, including the:

  • name of the party and any abbreviation of the name
  • name, address and signature of the registered officer
  • name, address and signature of the secretary.

Party membership list

Your application must be accompanied by a list of at least 100 members of the party who are ACT electors.

The list needs to include specific details for each member:

  • full names
  • the elector’s enrolled ACT home address
  • date of birth, if known
  • email address, if known

Provide the list in an electronic, password-protected format.

The Commission uses the list to confirm the party has at least 100 members.

The list is treated in confidence and destroyed once processed.

Party constitution

Your application must be accompanied by your party constitution, ratified by party members.

The Commission has set requirements for a party’s constitution.

Minimum requirements:

  • Party name: the party name must satisfy the requirements in Electoral Act 1992.
  • Functions and objectives of your party: your party objectives must include election of your candidates to the ACT Legislative Assembly.
  • Membership requirements: state who is eligible to join your party, the different membership categories, and how members are admitted, suspended and expelled.
  • The party’s decision-making process: identify who is eligible to make decisions and how.
  • Arrangements for annual general meetings, party meeting cadence, how members are notified of meetings, and the number required for a quorum.
  • Office bearers and terms of office: this must include at least a secretary, chief administrative officer or similar.
  • Party account details: state who is responsible for keeping the party’s accounts and how banking and other investments are handled. Include auditing and reporting requirements
  • Mechanism for changing the constitution:  detail the process for amending your constitution.

Help registering

For help meeting the application requirements:

Change the details of a registered party

You can update the registered details of your party at any time.

If you’re participating in an upcoming election, you need to apply before 1 July of the election year for the changes to take effect.

  1. Complete the Application to change register of political parties for ACT Legislative Assembly elections [PDF 277KB]
  2. Provide the completed form to the ACT Electoral Commission:
    1. by email to elections@act.gov.au
    2. by post to GPO Box 172, Canberra ACT 2601
    3. in person at Elections ACT, Nara Centre, 3 Constitution Ave, Canberra.

Register of political parties

The register of political parties is a public record.

You can: