Re-registration of Family First Victoria

Thursday 5 December 2024

For immediate release

Family First Victoria was re-registered as a political party under Victorian electoral law on Monday 25 November.

This concludes earlier processes which involved the party applying to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for a review of the Victorian Electoral Commission’s (VEC) decision to de-register the party in June 2024.

As required by section 58A of the Electoral Act 2002, the party applied for re-registration on Friday 25 October. This followed a VCAT order for a stay on the earlier decision to de-register the party, which preserved the party’s rights, privileges and duties as a registered political party.

To be registered, a party must have at least 500 eligible members on the Victorian electoral roll. The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) confirmed this by contacting members whose names were provided by Family First Victoria.

As a registered political party, Family First Victoria will continue to:

  • have the party’s name printed next to its endorsed candidates’ names on state election ballot papers
  • be able to nominate all its candidates centrally with the VEC instead of with individual election managers
  • be entitled to public funding based on the number of votes it receives at a state election
  • be entitled to access enrolment information, not including phone numbers or email addresses, which it can use for permitted purposes.

Additional media information

Review of decision to de-register Family First Victoria

  • Following the conclusion of a review of Family First Victoria’s registration earlier this year, the VEC found that the party had failed to meet the statutory requirement to prove it had at least 500 eligible members and de-registered them as a political party on Thursday 27 June. This review was required as the party achieved less than 4% of first preference votes across the electorates it contested at the 2022 state election.
  • A stay on the decision to de-register the party was ordered by VCAT following an application by the party for a review of the decision. As a result, they retained all the rights, privileges and duties of a registered political party until the substantive application was determined, or further orders by VCAT.
  • As the party remained a registered political party because of the stay, they were required to apply for re-registration during the relevant period. The party applied for re-registration on Friday 25 October.
  • Following an assessment of the application, it was confirmed that Family First Victoria had met the requirements to be re-registered by demonstrating that they had at least 500 eligible members. As a result, the party was re-registered on Monday 25 November.
  • The VEC and Family First Victoria agreed that there is no longer a need for the VCAT proceeding to continue, as the issue with the party’s registration was resolved. With consent of both parties, VCAT made an order to discontinue the party’s application on Wednesday 4 December.