Annual continued registration
Registered parties seeking to continue their registration each year are required to provide an annual return between 1 June and 30 June to the NSW Electoral Commissioner demonstrating the party’s continued eligibility.
A registered party must do this for each year it wishes to remain registered unless the party has been registered for less than six months before the return is due.
This allows the NSW Electoral Commissioner to verify that each party continues to remain eligible for registration.
If a party fails to comply with one of the requirements of continued registration, the NSW Electoral Commissioner may cancel the party’s registration and the party will be removed from the relevant register/s and will no longer have access to entitlements of registration.
De-registered parties may still have obligations under the Electoral Funding Act 2018 and should contact the NSW Electoral Commission for more information.
Annual continued registration process
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Begin the annual registration process
Each year, each registered officer will be sent a notice reminding them of the requirement to make an annual return as to the party’s continued eligibility for registration.
The notice includes a list of party members with their current enrolment status. In some cases, there will be a shortage of required party members to maintain the party’s eligibility for registration. In these cases, a party must include with an annual return the additional members the party is relying on.
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Documents and forms review
Before lodging an annual return for continued registration, the registered officer of a party should:
list additional party members (if required) with their names, dates of birth and enrolled addresses
compile the completed Declarations of party membership for additional members
obtain an up to date copy of the party’s constitution (if applicable) and
complete an Annual return for continued registration form.
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Party membership assessment and survey assessment for additional members
If additional members are provided as part of the annual continued registration process we will check the members are enrolled to vote, are members of the party, and have not been relied upon for the registration of another party.
The NSW Electoral Commissioner will decline to deal with the annual return for the continued registration of a party if it fails to comply with the number of members to remain eligible for registration.
To find out the processes to conduct these assessments view party membership assessment and survey process. -
Lodgement of annual return
The application to lodge an annual return for continued registration and relevant supporting documentation must be made to the NSW Electoral Commissioner by any of the following methods:
By mail to:
NSW Electoral Commission
GPO Box 4046
Sydney NSW 2001By email to: fdc@elections.nsw.gov.au
In person by appointment to: 231 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000
After making an initial assessment, the registered officer of the party (or deputy or secretary as applicable) will be advised that the application has been received.
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Determination by the NSW Electoral Commissioner
The NSW Electoral Commissioner will determine after 30 June whether a party has demonstrated its continued eligibility to remain registered.
If a party fails to comply with any of the requirements to maintain registration, the NSW Electoral Commissioner may cancel the party’s registration.
If the continued annual registration is satisfied by a party, the registered officer of the party will be advised and the Register of Parties or the Local Government Register of Political Parties will be updated as applicable.