Party re-registration
Re-registration of registered political parties
The Electoral Act 2002 states that registered political parties must apply to the Victorian Electoral Commission for re-registration. We must receive re-registration applications between 28 August and 28 October (inclusive) this year (27 to 25 months before the 2026 state election). Any party that wishes to stay registered in Victoria must submit its re-registration application in this period.
To stay registered, we must verify a party has at least 500 members who are:
- current members
- on the Victorian electoral roll
- not a member of another registered political party in Victoria or a political party applying for registration in Victoria.
Any party that fails to demonstrate this member eligibility requirement will have its application for re-registration refused. Parties cannot apply to register again until 6 months after the date it submitted its re-registration application.
Re-registration process
Step 1: Notify the party
We will notify a registered political party when it must apply for re-registration.
During the application period, a party must give us:
- a completed re-registration application form
- a statutory declaration that it has at least 500 eligible members
- the names and enrolled addresses of at least 500 eligible members
- an up-to-date party constitution
- a signed copy of the re-registration checklist
- payment of $816.50.
Each party is responsible for maintaining an up-to-date list of its members.
Step 2: Sample member verification
We will contact a random sample of up to 50 party members over 4 weeks to check they are eligible.
If we can verify the minimum number of members from this representative sample, the party meets its requirements and keeps its registration.
If we can't verify the minimum number of members, we will ask the party to take part in full member verification (step 3).
Step 3: (optional): Full member verification
If the party takes part in the full member verification phase, we will contact the remaining list of party members to confirm their eligibility.
We must confirm there are at least 500 eligible party members for the party to stay registered.
Outcome of re-registration
At the end of the re-registration process, a party either keeps its registration or has its application refused. A party that has its application for re-registration refused cannot apply to register again until 6 months after the date it submitted its re-registration application.
We will notify the party of the outcome. Where applicable, we will also update the register of political parties and place a notice in the Victoria Government Gazette.
A party that is refused re-registration may still have funding and disclosure obligations under the Electoral Act.
Information for party members
If you are a member of a political party that is applying to re-register, the party may give us your name and contact details so we can verify your membership.
We do not share any individual responses with political parties. We handle all personal information we receive in line with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. You can read more about how we handle your data on our Privacy page.
Benefits of party registration
A registered political party:
- has the party name printed on state election ballot papers next to the names of the endorsed candidates
- can nominate all its candidates and register how-to-vote cards centrally at our head office, instead of with individual election managers
- is entitled to public funding based on the number of votes it receives at a state election
- is entitled to access enrolment information, not including phone numbers or email address, which it can use for permitted purposes.
An unregistered party can still participate in an election but is not entitled to the above.
More information
Read the determination on member verification for political party registration.
There is more information about political party re-registration in Section 58 of the Electoral Act 2002.