(1) The Electoral Commissioner may refuse to register
a party if it is not an eligible party or if its application for registration
has not been duly made under this Part.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1),
the Electoral Commissioner may refuse to register a party if the
Electoral Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that particulars set out
in, or documents included in, the application are incomplete or not correct,
but may, if the Electoral Commissioner thinks fit, register the party despite
any such defect.
(a) may, before registering
a party, require a written response from a number of the members relied on for
registration of the party that the Electoral Commissioner considers
appropriate confirming that they are in fact members of the party, and
(b)
may adopt any other test for verifying membership of the party that must be
satisfied before the party is registered, and
(d) may make other inquiries about the members of the party or
the party for the purpose of determining whether the party is an eligible
party and the application for its registration is duly made.
The regulations
may (but need not) sanction particular tests or inquiries for the purposes of
this subsection.
(c) is the name, an abbreviation or acronym of the
name, or a derivative of the name, of a registered party or a party currently
represented in Parliament, or
(d) is likely to be confused with or mistaken
for the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a registered party
or a party currently represented in Parliament, or
(e) comprises the words
"Independent Party" or comprises or contains the word "Independent" and--
(ii) matter that so nearly
resembles the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a
registered party or a party currently represented in Parliament that the
matter is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that name or that
abbreviation or acronym.
(a) is the name, an abbreviation
or acronym of the name, or a derivative of the name, of a party that was
registered under this Part (or Part 4A of the Parliamentary Electorates and
Elections Act 1912 ) at any time during the previous 2 years (
"a recently deregistered party" ), or
(b) is likely to be confused with or
mistaken for the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a
recently deregistered party, or
(c) comprises or contains the word
"Independent" and--
(i) the name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name,
of a recently deregistered party, or
(ii) matter that so nearly resembles the
name, or an abbreviation or acronym of the name, of a recently deregistered
party that the matter is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that name
or that abbreviation or acronym.
(a) the Electoral Commissioner must, as soon as is
reasonably practicable, notify the applicant of the refusal and of the reasons
for the refusal, and
(b) the applicant may, within 30 days after the date of
the notification by the Electoral Commissioner, amend the application for
registration and the Electoral Commissioner may deal with the amended
application.
(7) Despite subsection (4), if a party is registered under the
Commonwealth Act (a
"Commonwealth registered party" ), the Electoral Commissioner must not refuse
to register under this Act--
(b)
another party (if the Commonwealth registered party has given its consent in
writing to the registration),
under the same name or same abbreviation (or
both) as the Commonwealth registered party is registered under the
Commonwealth Act by reason only of a ground set out in the following--
(c)
subsection (4) (b),
(d) subsection (4) (c) or (d), unless the
registered party or party currently represented in Parliament referred to in
subsection (4) (c) or (d) is not registered under the Commonwealth Act.
