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Thursday, November 13, 2025
The National Socialist Network, a group of neo-Nazis in Australia, have stated that they are “very close” to having the required numbers to register a political party in Australia, after 60 members of the group rallied outside the Parliament of New South Wales on Saturday. They have suggested running under the name White Australia. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has no way of blocking them from doing so, and as a result, Australia may risk the chance of having a legal neo-Nazi party operating in the country.
An AEC spokesperson stated that the AEC had “no scope under the Commonwealth Electoral Act to consider the following issues: party ideology and related insignia, concerns raised by law enforcement or individuals with criminal convictions,” and could only block the establishment of political parties based on them having names that are “obscene, frivolous, or vexatious,” were more than six words long, or are similar to another party. They also noted that said restrictions are set by the parliament via legislation, not by the AEC itself.
Groups wishing to become a non-parliamentary party (meaning they have no incumbent MP or senator) must have 1,500 members, submit a constitution, and pay a $500 fee. Jill Sheppard, an Australian National University lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations said there was a grey area in what is an “obscene” name. She stated that the AEC “will be hoping desperately that they won’t have to make this decision,” and had long avoided intervening in the registration of a party, leaving decisions to voters. “If voters decide a party is too ideologically unpleasant, they won’t vote for them,” she elaborated.
On the other hand, the New South Wales Electoral Commission has more power than the AEC, and may block the registration of the party within the state. Premier Chris Minns said that his state’s electoral body had the “highest barriers to entry to new political parties of any jurisdiction in the country.” “I would assume that a nakedly racist organisation would be at very strong risk of breaching that public interest test.” He has also indicated that his government will strengthen laws against hate speech.
