The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia. Federally, 13 of the 150 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as well as 20 of the 76 members of the upper house (senators).

The Parliament of Australia has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, with full-preference instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the Australian House of Representatives, and the use of the single transferable vote to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.

Other parties tend to perform better in the upper houses of the various federal and state parliaments since these typically use a form of proportional representation, except for in Tasmania where the lower house is proportionally elected and the upper house is made up of single member districts.

History Two political groups dominate the Australian political spectrum, forming a de facto two-party system. One is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a centre-left party which is formally linked to the Australian labour movement. Formed in 1893, it has been a major party federally since 1901, and has been one of the two major parties since the 1910 federal election. The ALP is in government in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Federal Government of Australia.

The other group is the Liberal–National Coalition, an alliance of the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia. The parties are in a formal coalition at federal level and in New South Wales and Victoria, but are not formally allied in Western Australia and South Australia. The main party in this group is the centre-right Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is the modern form of a conservative group that has existed since the combination of the Protectionist Party and Free Trade Party into the Fusion Liberal Party in 1909. Although this group has changed its nomenclature, there has been a general continuity of MPs and structure between different forms of the party. Its modern form was founded by Robert Menzies in 1944. The party's philosophy is generally liberal conservatism.

On 22 January 2026, The Liberal–National Coalition was dissolved over an internal dispute over a hate speech bill. The Liberal Party of Australia voted yes to the bill and the National Party of Australia voted no to the bill. The Coalition reformed on 8 February 2026.

The National Party represents rural and agricultural interests. The Nationals contest a limited number of seats and do not generally directly compete with the Liberal Party. Its ideology is generally more socially conservative than that of the Liberal Party. In 1987, the National Party made an abortive run for the office of prime minister in its own right, in the Joh for Canberra campaign. However, it has generally not aspired to become the majority party in the coalition, and it is generally understood that the prime minister of Australia will be a member of either the Labor or Liberal parties. On two occasions (involving Earle Page in 1939, and John McEwen from December 1967 to January 1968), the deputy prime minister, the leader of the National Party (then known as the Country Party), became the prime minister temporarily, upon the death of the incumbent prime minister. Arthur Fadden was the only other Country Party prime minister. He assumed office in August 1941 after the resignation of Robert Menzies and served as prime minister until October of that year.

The Liberal and National parties have merged in Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Liberal National Party of Queensland, formed in 2008, is a branch of the Liberal Party, but it is affiliated with the Nationals and members elected to federal parliament may sit as either Liberals or Nationals. The Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory is likewise affiliated with both the Liberals and Nationals and its members may join either federal parliamentary party room.

Historically, support for either the Coalition or the Labor Party was often viewed as being based on social class, with the upper and middle classes supporting the Coalition and the working class supporting Labor. This has been a less important factor since the 1970s and 1980s when the Labor Party gained a significant bloc of middle-class support and the Coalition gained a significant bloc of working-class support.

The two-party duopoly has been relatively stable, with the two groupings (Labor and Coalition) gaining at least 70% of the primary vote in every election between 1910 and 2019 (including the votes of autonomous state parties). Third parties have only rarely received more than 10% of the vote for the Australian House of Representatives in a federal election, such as the Australian Democrats in the 1990 election and the Australian Greens in 2010, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025. In some parliaments, support for smaller parties and Independents has resulted in major parties having to come to Confidence and supply agreements to form government, such as after the 2010 Australian federal election.

Party registration

Federal

To run candidates in a federal election under the party's name, a party must register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), otherwise a member of an unregistered party may run only as an independent. The AEC's eligibility requirements for registration include "being an organisation with an aim of endorsing candidates for election to the Senate and/or House of Representatives," and "having either: at least one member of the party who is a Senator or Member of the House of Representatives in the Parliament of the Commonwealth and not a member of another party (Parliamentary party); or at least 1,500 members who are on the Electoral Roll and who are not also relied upon by another party for registration purposes (non-Parliamentary party)."

States

Each state in Australia has its own electoral commission responsible for state and local elections. While each has its own requirements for party registration, they are consistent in requiring a minimum number of members or representation in parliament.

+ Party Registration Jurisdiction Electoral commission Membership requirement Federal Australian Electoral Commission 1,500 New South Wales NSW Electoral Commission 750 Victoria Victorian Electoral Commission 500 Queensland Queensland Electoral Commission Western Australia Western Australian Electoral Commission South Australia Electoral Commission of South Australia 200 Northern Territory Northern Territory Electoral Commission Tasmania Tasmanian Electoral Commission 100 Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission

Federal parties Federal parliamentary parties Political partyMembers of Parliament (May 2025)Party leader(s)IdeologyHouse of RepsSenateAnthony AlbaneseSocial democracy Liberal PartyAngus TaylorLiberal conservatism National PartyMatt Canavan David ShoebridgePauline HansonCollective leadership EnvironmentalismFatima PaymanProgressivism David PocockProgressivismJacqui LambieRobbie Katter United Australia PartyRalph Babet

Federal non-parliamentary parties Parties listed in alphabetical order as of March 2026:

Name Leader(s) Ideology Animal Justice Party Angela Pollard Animal welfare Australian Christians Maryka Groenewald Christian right Australian Citizens Party Craig Isherwood LaRouchism Australian Democrats Lyn Allison Social liberalism Better Together Party Lucy BradlowBronwen Bock Progressivism Family First Party Lyle Shelton Social conservatism The Great Australian Party Rod Culleton Right-wing populism HEART Party Michael O'Neill Anti-vaccination Indigenous-Aboriginal Party Uncle Owen Whyman Indigenous rights Legalise Cannabis Michael Balderstone Cannabis legalisation Libertarian Party Anthony Bull Right-libertarianism Gerard Rennick Conservatism Power 2 People Tristan Van Rye Right-wing populism Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party Robert Brown Conservatism Socialist Alliance Jacob AndrewarthaSarah HathwaySam Wainwright Eco-socialism Sustainable Australia Party Celeste Ackerly Environmentalism Australian Federation Party Suellen Wrightson Trumpism Victorian Socialists Collective leadership Democratic socialism votefusion.org Drew Wolfendale Secular humanismDai LeFrank CarboneWestern Sydney localism

State and territory parties

New South Wales As of the New South Wales Electoral Commission:

Parliamentary parties

Name Leader Ideology Chris Minns Coalition Kellie Sloane National Party Gurmesh Singh ConservatismAgrarianism Robert Borsak Emma Hurst Legalise Cannabis Jeremy Buckingham Cannabis legalisation John Ruddick

Non-parliamentary parties Name Registered officer Ideology  Australian Christians Karl Schubert   Australian Citizens Party Kingsley Liu Family First Party Barbara Helvadjian Conservatism HEART Party Michael O'NeillAnti-vaccination  Josh for NSW Marie Xenos Community advocacy Mike Newman Eleanor Morley Glen Stelzer Single-issue politics Federico Fuentes Anti-capitalism William Bourke Environmentalism Brian Roberts Eddie Dogramaci Small business advocacy

Victoria As of the Victorian Electoral Commission:

Parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology Ben CarrollSocial democracy Coalition Jess Wilson Victorian Nationals ConservatismAgrarianism Ellen Sandell Legalise Cannabis Victoria Cannabis legalisation David Limbrick Right-libertarianism Jeff Bourman Conservatism One Nation Warren Pickering Hansonism Georgie Purcell Animal welfare

Non-parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology Australian Citizens Party LaRouchism Democratic Labour Party Social conservatism End Mass Immigration – Reform AU John Hutchison Greyhound racing advocacy, horse racing advocacy Family First Party Lyle Shelton Christian right Freedom Party of Victoria Morgan Jonas Anti-lockdown politics New Democrats Kaushaliya Vaghela Anti-corruption Sustainable Australia Party Clifford Hayes Environmentalism No leader

Queensland As of the Queensland Electoral Commission:

Parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology David Crisafulli Steven Miles Social democracy Robbie Katter

Non-parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology Family First Party Lyle Shelton Christian right Legalise Cannabis Queensland Melody LindsayCannabis legalisation Libertarian Party Right-libertarianism James Ashby Hansonism

Western Australia As of the Western Australian Electoral Commission:

Parliamentary parties + Name Leader Ideology Roger Cook Social democracy Basil Zempilas Shane Love ConservatismAgrarianism Brad Pettitt One Nation Rod Caddies Hansonism Legalise Cannabis Party WA Brian Walker Cannabis legalisation Australian Christians Jamie van Burgel Christian right Animal Justice Party Animal welfare

Non-parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology Libertarian Party Right-libertarianism Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Rick Mazza Conservatism Socialist Alliance WA Eco-socialism Stop Pedophiles! Protect kiddies! Sustainable Australia Party – Anti-corruption Western Australia Party

South Australia As of the Electoral Commission of South Australia:

Parliamentary parties Party Leader Ideology SA Labor Peter Malinauskas South Australian Liberal Party Ashton Hurn One Nation Cory Bernardi Australian Greens SA Family First Party Sarah Game Christian right

Non-parliamentary parties Name Leader Ideology Animal welfare Australian Citizens Party LaRouchism Australian Family Party Right-wing populism For Unley Localism Legalise Cannabis SA Libertarian Party SA Right-libertarianism National Party of Australia (SA) ConservatismAgrarianism Real Change SA Stephen Pallaras Sarah Game Fair Go SA Socialists Tom Gilchrist Socialism United Voice Australia Mark Aldridge

Tasmania As of the Tasmanian Electoral Commission:

Parliamentary parties