List of political parties in Australia explained

See also: List of historical political parties in Australia and List of local government political parties in Australia. The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 17 of the 151 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as are 17 of the 76 members of the upper house (senators).

The Parliament of Australia has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, with full-preference instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the Australian House of Representatives, and the use of the single transferable vote to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.

Other parties tend to perform better in the upper houses of the various federal and state parliaments since these typically use a form of proportional representation, except for in Tasmania where the lower house is proportionally elected and the upper house is made up of single member districts.

History

Two political groups dominate the Australian political spectrum, forming a de facto two-party system. One is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a centre-left party which is formally linked to the Australian labour movement. Formed in 1893, it has been a major party federally since 1901, and has been one of the two major parties since the 1910 federal election. The ALP is in government in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and the Federal Government of Australia.

The other group is a conservative grouping of parties that are in coalition at the federal level, as well as in New South Wales, but compete in Western Australia and South Australia. It is in government in Tasmania. The main party in this group is the centre-right Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is the modern form of a conservative group that has existed since the combination of the Protectionist Party and Free Trade Party into the Commonwealth Liberal Party in 1909.^{[1] [2]} Although this group has changed its nomenclature, there has been a general continuity of MPs and structure between different forms of the party. Its modern form was founded by Robert Menzies in 1944.^[3] The party's philosophy is generally liberal conservatism.^{[4] [5]}

Every elected prime minister of Australia since 1910 has been a member of either the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, or one of the Liberal Party's previous incarnations (the Commonwealth Liberal Party, the Nationalist Party of Australia, and the United Australia Party).^[6]

The Liberal Party is joined by the National Party, a party that represents rural and agricultural interests.^[7] The Nationals contest a limited number of seats and do not generally directly compete with the Liberal Party. Its ideology is generally more socially conservative than that of the Liberal Party. In 1987, the National Party made an abortive run for the office of prime minister in its own right, in the Joh for Canberra campaign.^[8] However, it has generally not aspired to become the majority party in the coalition, and it is generally understood that the prime minister of Australia will be a member of either the Labor or Liberal parties. On two occasions (involving Earle Page in 1939, and John McEwen from December 1967 to January 1968), the deputy prime minister, the leader of the National Party (then known as the Country Party), became the prime minister temporarily, upon the death of the incumbent prime minister. Arthur Fadden was the only other Country Party, prime minister. He assumed office in August 1941 after the resignation of Robert Menzies and served as prime minister until October of that year.^[9]

The Liberal and National parties have merged in Queensland and the Northern Territory/South Australia, although the resultant parties are different. The Liberal National Party of Queensland, formed in 2008, is a branch of the Liberal Party, but it is affiliated with the Nationals and members elected to federal parliament may sit as either Liberals or Nationals.^[10] The Country Liberal Party was formed in 1978 when the Northern Territory gained responsible government.^[11] It is a separate member of the federal coalition, but it is affiliated with the two major members and its president has voting rights in the National Party. The name refers to the older name of the National Party.

Federally, these parties are collectively known as the Coalition. The Coalition has existed continually (between the Nationals and their predecessors, and the Liberals and their predecessors) since 1923, with minor breaks in 1940, 1973, and 1987.

Historically, support for either the Coalition or the Labor Party was often viewed as being based on social class, with the upper and middle classes supporting the Coalition and the working class supporting Labor. This has been a less important factor since the 1970s and 1980s when the Labor Party gained a significant bloc of middle-class support and the Coalition gained a significant bloc of working-class support.^[12]

The two-party duopoly has been relatively stable, with the two groupings (Labor and Coalition) gaining at least 70% of the primary vote in every election since 1910 (including the votes of autonomous state parties). Third parties have only rarely received more than 10% of the vote for the Australian House of Representatives in a federal election, such as the Australian Democrats in the 1990 election and the Australian Greens in 2010, 2016, 2019 and 2022. Additionally, support for Independent politicians in Australia has resulted in major parties having to come to agreements to form government at times, including the 2010 Australian Federal Election.

Membership requirement

To maintain registration, parties must demonstrate that they have a certain number of members.

Federally, since 2022, unless a party has current parliamentary representation, they must demonstrate they have 1,500 members.^{[13] [14]}
For the state and territory elections, parties require 100 members in Tasmania and the ACT, 200 in South Australia and Northern Territory, 500 in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, and 750 in New South Wales.

Membership requirement(s)! State/Level! Requirement

Federal	1,500
New South Wales	750
	500
Queensland
Western Australia
South Australia	200
Northern Territory
	100
Australian Capital Territory

Federal parties

Federal parliamentary parties

Political party				Members of the Parliament of Australia as of August 2024		Party leader(s)	Ideology
				House of Reps	Senate
		ALP					Anthony Albanese	Social democracy
		L/NP	Coalition	Liberal Party			Peter Dutton	Liberal conservatism, economic liberalism
				National Party			David Littleproud	Conservatism, agrarianism
		GRN					Adam Bandt	Green politics, progressivism
		PHON					Pauline Hanson	Right-wing populism, Hansonism
		CA						Social liberalism, populism
		DP					David Pocock	Environmentalism, progressivism^[15]
		JLN					Jacqui Lambie	Populism, social conservatism
		KAP					Robbie Katter	Social conservatism, developmentalism
		UAP	United Australia Party				Ralph Babet	Right-wing populism

Federal non-parliamentary parties

Parties listed in alphabetical order as of May 2024:^[16]

Name			width=150px	Leader(s)	width=300px	Ideology / objective
		AJP	Animal Justice Party	Angela Pollard	Animal protection, animal rights
		AC	Australian Christians	Maryka Groenewald^[17]
		ACP	Australian Citizens Party	Craig Isherwood	LaRouche movement, economic nationalism
		DEM	Australian Democrats	Lyn Allison	Social liberalism, anti-corruption^[18] ^[19]
		AFP	Australian Federation Party	Glenn O'Rourke	Agrarianism, conservatism
		DLFCN	Dai Le & Frank Carbone Network	Dai Le Frank Carbone	Western Sydney localism
		FUS	Fusion Party	Drew Wolfendale	Secular humanism, progressivism
	HEART	HEART Party	Michael O'Neill^[20]	Anti-vaccination, anti-fluoridation
		IAPA	Indigenous-Aboriginal Party	'Uncle' Owen Whyman	Indigenous rights, constitutional reform
		KFC	Kim for Canberra	Kim Rubenstein	Progressivism^[21]
		LCP	Legalise Cannabis	Michael Balderstone	Cannabis legalisation
		LP	Libertarian Party	Anthony Bull	Classical liberalism, right-libertarianism
		SFF	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party	Robert Brown	Agrarianism, green conservatism
		SA	Socialist Alliance	Jacob Andrewartha Sarah Hathway Sam Wainwright	Eco-socialism, anti-capitalism
		SAP	Sustainable Australia Party	Celeste Ackerly	Environmentalism, sustainable development
		GAP	The Great Australian Party	Rod Culleton	Right-wing populism, conspiracy theorism
		VS	Victorian Socialists	Collective leadership	Democratic socialism, anti-capitalism

State and territory parties

New South Wales

As of the New South Wales Electoral Commission:^[22]

Parliamentary parties

width=10px colspan="4"	Name			width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		ALP					Chris Minns
		L/NP	Coalition				Mark Speakman	, economic liberalism
				National Party			Dugald Saunders
		GRN
		SFF					Robert Borsak
		AJP					Emma Hurst
		LCP	Legalise Cannabis				Jeremy Buckingham	Cannabis legalisation
		LP					John Ruddick	,
		PHON					Tania Mihailuk

Non-parliamentary parties

Name^[23]			Leader	Ideology
		PEP		Cheryl McBride
		SA		No leader	, anti-capitalism
		SAP		William Bourke	, sustainable development
		SBP		Eddie Dogramaci	Small business advocacy

Victoria

As of the Victorian Electoral Commission:^[24]

Parliamentary parties

Name						Leader	Ideology
		ALP					Jacinta Allan
		L/NP	Coalition				John Pesutto	, economic liberalism
				National Party
		GRN					Ellen Sandell
		LCP	Legalise Cannabis					Cannabis legalisation
		LP					David Limbrick	Classical liberalism, right-libertarianism
		SFF					Jeff Bourman
		PHON	One Nation
		AJP					Georgie Purcell

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			Leader	width=200px	Ideology
		CPP	Companions and Pets Party	John Hutchison	Greyhound racing advocacy, horse racing advocacy^[25]
bgcolor=#9E0000		FPV	Freedom Party of Victoria	Morgan Jonas	Anti-lockdown politics, conservatism
		SAP		Clifford Hayes	Environmentalism, sustainable development
		VS		No leader

Queensland

As of the Queensland Electoral Commission:^[26]

Parliamentary parties

Name				width=140px	Leader	width=100px	Ideology
		ALP			Steven Miles
		LNP			David Crisafulli	, economic liberalism
		KAP			Robbie Katter
		GRN			No leader

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			width=120px	Leader	width=160px	Ideology
		AJP
		FFP	Family First Party		Christian politics, social conservatism
		LCP	Legalise Cannabis		Cannabis legalisation
		LP	Libertarian Party		Classical liberalism, right-libertarianism
		PHON

Western Australia

As of the Western Australian Electoral Commission:^[27]

Parliamentary parties

Name					width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		ALP
		LIB				Libby Mettam	, economic liberalism
		NAT				Shane Love	, agrarianism
		LCWA	Legalise Cannabis				Cannabis legalisation
		GRN				Brad Pettitt

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			Leader	Ideology
		ACP		Jamie van Burgel	, Christian right
		AJP
		SFF	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party	Rick Mazza	Agrarianism, green conservatism

South Australia

As of the Electoral Commission of South Australia:^[28]

Parliamentary parties

Name					width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		ALP	Australian Labor Party			Peter Malinauskas
		LIB	Liberal Party			David Speirs	, economic liberalism
		GRN	Australian Greens			Tammy Franks
		PHON
		SAB	SA-Best			Connie Bonaros

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		AJP			Animal protection Animal rights
		AFP	Australian Family Party		Christian politics Right-wing populism Conservatism
		CPP	Child Protection Party	Tony Tonkin
		FFP	Family First Party		Christian politics Social conservatism
		LCP	Legalise Cannabis	Damon Adams	Cannabis legalisation
		LP	Libertarian Party		Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism
		NAT	National Party	Jonathon Pietzsch
		RCSA	Real Change SA	Stephen Pallaras

Tasmania

As of the Tasmanian Electoral Commission:^[29]

Parliamentary parties

Name					width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		LIB				Jeremy Rockliff	, economic liberalism
		ALP				Dean Winter
		GRN				Rosalie Woodruff
		JLN				Jacqui Lambie

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		AJP	Animal Justice Party
		LN		Leanne Minshull	Hyperlocalism, Progressivism
		SFF		Carlo Di Falco

Australian Capital Territory

As listed with the ACT Electoral Commission:^[30]

Parliamentary parties

Name				width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		ALP			Andrew Barr
		LIB			Elizabeth Lee	,
		GRN			Shane Rattenbury

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			Leader	Ideology
		AJP
		BP		Bill Stefaniak
		CP		Kerry Markoulli
		DLP	Democratic Labour Party		Christian democracy, distributism
		FFP	Family First Party		Christian politics, social conservatism
		FCI	Fiona Carrick Independent	Fiona Carrick
		FNP	First Nation Party
		IFC	Independents for Canberra	Thomas Emerson
		LP			Classical liberalism, right-libertarianism
		SFF
		SI	Strong Independents	Peter Strong and Ann Bray
		SAP		John Haydon	sustainable development
		TACP

Northern Territory

As of the Northern Territory Electoral Commission:^[31]

Parliamentary parties

Name				width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		ALP			Eva Lawler
		CLP			Lia Finocchiaro

Non-parliamentary parties

Name			width=120px	Leader	width=80px	Ideology
		AJP			Animal protection, animal rights
		AFP
		GRN		No leader

See also

• List of historical political parties in Australia
• List of local government political parties in Australia
• List of political parties by country
• Politics of Australia

Notes and References

1. Web site: Infosheet 22 - Political parties . 2024-02-25 . www.aph.gov.au . en-AU.
2. Web site: The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search . 2024-02-25 . news.google.com.
3. Web site: Robert Menzies . National Archives of Australia.
4. Web site: 2013-06-12 . Our Beliefs . 2024-03-22 . Liberal Party of Australia . en-au.
5. Web site: Chapter three . 2024-03-22 . www.aph.gov.au . en-AU.
6. Web site: Australia's prime ministers .
7. Web site: What We Stand For . 2024-03-22 . The Nationals . en-AU.
8. Simms . Marian . 1988 . Political Review . The Australian Quarterly . en . 60 . 2 . 231–239 . 10.2307/20635480. 20635480 .
9. Web site: Arthur Fadden . National Archives of Australia.
10. Web site: The Liberal National Party - History . dead . https://archive.today/20110219183524/http://lnp.org.au/the-party/lnp-history . 19 February 2011 . Liberal National Party of Queensland.
11. Web site: 2024-03-28 . About . 2024-03-30 . Country Liberal Party . en-AU.
12. Web site: The Party Contest: Liberal vs. Labor . Oz Politics . 16 June 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090928000422/http://www.ozpolitics.info/guide/parties/contest . 28 September 2009 . dead.
13. News: Changes to federal election rules including party sizes and names pass Parliament. 2022-06-09. . 26 August 2021 . en-AU.
14. Web site: Green . Antony . More on Minimum Membership Requirements for Registering Political Parties . Antony Green's Election Blog . 2022-06-09.
15. Web site: Wallabies great David Pocock turns to politics in post-rugby life. The Fiji Times. 17 December 2021. 25 May 2023.
16. Web site: 22 August 2022 . Current Register of Political Parties . 22 August 2022 . Australian Electoral Commission.
17. Web site: 2023-11-09 . Maryka Groenewald: A Portrait of Heartfelt Leadership . 2024-01-12 . en-US.
18. Web site: National anti-corruption commission urgent . 20 October 2020 . Australian Democrats.
19. Web site: Rorts Watch . Australian Democrats.
20. Web site: 8 November 2016 . No jab, no vote: new anti-vax party registered . 21 November 2016 . Crikey.
21. Web site: Election 2022: What's going on in Canberra's senate race?. The Mandarin. Johnson. Chris. May 18, 2022. June 6, 2022.
22. Web site: 24 August 2022 . State Register of Parties . 2022-08-29 . elections.nsw.gov.au.
23. Web site: Information About Registered Parties . elections.nsw.gov.au . 27 June 2022.
24. Web site: Currently registered parties . 22 August 2022 . Victorian Electoral Commission.
25. Web site: Upstart party takes on Animal Justice. Weekly Times Now. 2022. March 23, 2023.
26. Web site: Queensland . Electoral Commission of . 2022-08-26 . Registers . 2022-08-29 . ecq.qld.gov.au . en.
27. Web site: 29 August 2022 . Registered Political Parties in WA . live . 29 August 2022 . Western Australian Electoral Commission. 30 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220930022024/https://www.elections.wa.gov.au/candidates-and-parties/registered-political-parties-wa.
28. Web site: Register of political parties . 2022-08-29 . Electoral Commission of South Australia . en-gb.
29. Web site: TEC Party Register . 2022-08-29 . tec.tas.gov.au.
30. Web site: 2022-04-14 . Register of political parties . 2022-08-29 . elections.act.gov.au . en.
31. Web site: Government . Northern Territory . Register of political parties . ntec.nt.gov.au . 24 June 2024 . en . 13 July 2023.