This information is provided for guidance and should not be read as a full and final statement of the law.  Users should seek their own legal advice if required.

Section references, below, are to the Electoral Act 1993, Part 4 unless stated otherwise.

Why do political parties register with the Electoral Commission?

Only registered political parties are able at general elections to campaign for party votes, be considered for an allocation of election broadcasting time and funds, and access a party election expenses limit on top of that to which every electorate candidate is entitled.

Unregistered political parties may stand candidates in electorates, which independent candidates may also contest.

What does a political party need to have to apply for and maintain registration?

1)      An acceptable party name (and any abbreviation).

2)      Satisfactory evidence of at least 500 eligible members.

3)      Statutory declarations from its party secretary concerning membership, intention to contest general elections, and advising of any component parties.

4)      Party membership rules showing what is required for current financial membership, and candidate selection rules which provide for the democratic involvement of members in the process.

5)      An auditor (or person who has agreed to be auditor when the party is registered).

6)      A party secretary with a postal address (and ideally phone, fax and e-mail contact details).

7)      Either the secretary, or a sitting MP who is a current financial member of the party, to make the application.

The party should also understand and be prepared to meet the ongoing compliance requirements of being a registered political party.

Each of these requirements is dealt with in more detail below.

Acceptable party name

What is an acceptable party name?

A party name (and any abbreviation) will be accepted as long as it is not offensive, indecent, likely to confuse or mislead voters, longer than 52 characters including spaces and punctuation, or refers to an honour or title. s.65.

An abbreviated name may be registered for use on ballot papers.  The abbreviation should be a shortened version of the party name.  It may include or be an acronym, but should not be an alternative name.

A party name (and any abbreviation) approved for registration will appear on the register of political parties, ballot papers and other official publications exactly as submitted, including capitalisation, punctuation, any leading words or acronyms.

Can names be reserved, and do any intellectual property rights go with registration?

It is not possible to reserve a party name or abbreviation with the Electoral Commission before an application for registration is submitted.

Registration of a party does not grant any intellectual property rights..

Can a party later apply to register a change of name or abbreviation?

The secretary or an MP who is a current financial member of the party may apply in writing to have a replacement name or abbreviation registered for a currently registered party.  The application process is the same as for initial registration, except that only the replacement name(s) need be provided.  Depending on the extent of change, the new name(s) may be advertised for public comment before decision by the commission.  s.69.

500 eligible members

Who is an eligible member?

A current financial member who is eligible to enrol as an elector.  s.63(2)(c)(vi).

A current financial member is someone who has applied for membership and paid the required fee.  A fee to renew the membership must be paid at least every three years.  s.3.

The main eligibility requirements to enrol as an elector are to be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and aged 18 years or more.  s.74.

Parties may have members who are not required to pay a subscription or who are not eligible to enrol as an elector, but these members do not count towards the minimum of 500 eligible members and their details should not be included with an application for registration.

What evidence is needed of 500 eligible members?

For each member a personally signed and dated declaration (usually the membership form) which contains:

1. The member's name and residential street address;
2. Confirmation by the person that they are eligible to enrol as an elector;
3. The amount of the membership fee that has been paid to the party;
4. Authorisation for the party to record them as a financial member of the party;
5. Authorisation for the party to release their membership details to the Electoral Commission for the purpose of the application to register the party under the Electoral Act.

The commission requires the original forms, so you should take copies for your own records if required.  The original forms will not be available for return to the party until at least six months after the first general election held subsequent to registration.

There is a template party membership form with content meeting these under Downloads at right.  If you wish to pick up this content and include it in your form then the Electoral Commission would be happy to check your proposed form before you use it.  Please contact the Commission at info@elections.govt.nz or phone 04 474 0670 or fax 04-474 0674.  New parties are urged to take advantage of this offer to ensure that the completed membership forms are not rejected outright.

The Electoral Commission recommends that applicants include more than 500 declarations with their application as it is common for some completed forms not to be accepted and counted.

What are the most common reasons that completed forms are not counted?

Because they are:

1. illegible
2. not from people eligible to be electors
3. duplicate forms from the same person
4. not personally signed by the member
5. not dated
6. not specifying the fee paid

Are there privacy issues in providing membership information to the commission?

The commission has been advised that a member's consent is not required before his or her name is released to the commission, but that the member's consent must be obtained before any other information about the member is released to the commission (such as the member's address which is required by the commission, or information not needed for the commission's purposes but which may be on the form).

The applicant for registration of the party may request the commission to keep membership information confidential by including a statement such as the following in the application letter:

"This information concerning current financial members of [name of party] is provided to the Electoral Commission for the purpose of registration of [name of party] under Part 4 of the Electoral  Act 1993. I request that this information remain confidential to the Electoral Commission and not be disclosed to any other person."

Applicants should be aware that the commission may be asked under the Official Information Act 1982 to release the declarations provided to the commission for the purposes of registration. The commission must consider each request in the circumstances, taking into account the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1993. In general, the Electoral Commission does not release the declarations unless it is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in the public interest, based on its responsibility to ensure the integrity of the registration process.  Parties should be aware that a refusal to release the declarations can be appealed to the Ombudsman.  Applicants may wish to seek their own legal advice on the privacy issues involved in providing membership information to the commission.

Statutory declarations

What statutory declarations are required?

The party secretary is required to provide three statutory declarations with the application stating:

• that the party has at least 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol as electors, and
• that the party intends at general elections to submit a party list, or have one or more electorate candidates stand for the party (or for a related party), or both, and
• whether or not the party has any component parties and, if so, naming them.

s.63(2)(ca).

What form should the statutory declarations take?

Template declarations are provided here for the optional adaptation and use by applicants under Downloads at right.  These use the form for statutory declarations required by the Oaths and Declaration Act 1957, s.9. sched.1.

Party membership rules & candidate selection rules

When must parties supply a copy of their membership rules?

The supply of the rules is required by the Electoral Act within one month of registration, and the Electoral Commission is required to make them available for public inspection.  However, supply of these rules with an application for registration helps the Electoral Commission confirm the definition of current financial member for that party.  Reading of the membership rules will usually be required to help understand a party's candidate selection rules.  Rules must be supplied in hardcopy, while a .pdf document for display on this website is also requested.  The rules should include the date of their adoption by the party. s.3.s.71B.

When must parties supply a copy of their candidate selection rules?

The supply of the rules is required by the Electoral Act within one month of registration, and the Electoral Commission is required to make them available for public inspection.  The Electoral Act requires registered parties to follow democratic procedures in candidate selection, which should be set out in the rules.  Parties may choose to supply the rules with their application.  Rules must be supplied in hardcopy, while a .pdf document for display on this website is also requested.  The rules should include the date of their adoption by the party. s.71.s.71B.

Auditor

What are the requirements for an auditor?

Every registered party must have as auditor a chartered accountant who does not have a conflict of interest involving a direct or indirect relationship to the party (although they may be a member who is not an office holder).  A partnership may be named as auditor, but a body corporate may not be.  Parties and prospective auditors are referred to the relevant provision of the Electoral Act 1993 and the Companies Act 1993 setting out the requirement of who may be an auditor and what they must do in auditing and reporting on the annual returns of party donations and returns of general election expenses. s.214D. s.214E. s.214H. Companies Act 1993 s.199.

The application for registration must detail the name and postal address of the person or firm and include the written agreement of the proposed auditor to do the job. s.63(2)(c)(v).

Party secretary

What are the requirements for a party secretary?

A named individual is required to fill the role of party secretary in accordance with the Electoral Act 1993, although they may have a different title and broader role within the party.  As well as being a point of contact, the party secretary has personal responsibility to complete certain compliance tasks such as providing annual statutory declarations confirming continuing eligibility for registration, annual party donation returns, authorising election advertising, and making general election expense returns.  Failure to meet some of these obligations can be an offence attracting substantial fines or jail.

The application for registration must detail the name and postal address of the party secretary, and ideally include phone and fax numbers as well as an e-mail address to speed communications. s.63(2)(c)(iv).

Application requirements and process

Is there a deadline for registration of a party before a general election?

Yes, a party must be registered by writ day to be able to contest the party vote.  The registration process can take takes 6-8 weeks from the time the commission receives and application.  Applications cannot be processed or considered between writ day and the return of the writ for a general election. s.64.

The following timetable indicates the minimum time possible for each part of the process. Once an election is called, the commission will meet before writ day (generally the day before) to consider any application that has completed all steps in the process.

The times shown assume that all documentation is in order and that the party has supplied membership forms for 500 current financial members who are eligible to be electors. It is common for applications to take 6-8 weeks to be completely dealt with for a variety of reasons, including omissions in the documentation, or too few acceptable membership forms.  If the commission receives public comment that needs a response from the applicant before the commission can consider the application then that would add further delay to the above timetable.

How should an application be made?

The application must be in writing and must be signed by the applicant who must be either the party secretary or a sitting MP who is a current financial member of the party.  The Electoral Commission has provided templates for many of the key documents for the optional adaptation and use by parties.  These are accessible under Downloads at right.   The Electoral Commission will provide comment on draft application documents if asked.

The application letter must include the following:

1. The name of the party.
2. Any desired abbreviation of the name for use on ballot papers.
3. The name, address, and any phone, fax and e-mail contacts of the applicant and the capacity in which he or she makes the application.
4. The name, address, and any phone, fax and e-mail contacts of the party secretary, if that is not the person making the application.
5. The name and address of the person who has agreed to be auditor.

You also must include with your letter:

1. The auditor's signed consent to the appointment as auditor for the party.
2. Evidence, in a form approved by the Electoral Commission, that the party has at least 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol as electors.
3. A statutory declaration by the party secretary stating
   1. whether the party has at least 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol as electors; and
   2. that the party intends, at general elections, to submit a party list, or to have 1 or more constituency candidates stand for the party or for a related political party, or both; and
   3. whether or not the party has any component parties and, if so, stating the name of each component party.
4. A copy of the party's membership rules.

Post, courier or deliver your application to:

Electoral Commission
L5, Featherston House,
cnr Waring-Taylor & Featherston Sts
PO Box 3050
WELLINGTON

s.63.

Is there an application fee?

No.

Can I apply for registration of my party and party logo at the same time?

Yes.

Ongoing compliance

Any changes to the following must be notified by the party secretary to the Electoral Commission in writing:

1.      Address for correspondence.

2.      Party secretary

3.      Auditor.

4.      Component parties.

5.      Party membership rules or candidate selection rules (within 1 month of their adoption).

6.      If eligible membership falls below 500.

s.67(3).  s.71B.

What steps does the commission take when it receives an application?

Check the application

• The letters and statutory declarations are checked to ensure that they meet all of the requirements specified in the Act.
• If anything is missing, or needs amending then the party secretary will be notified, in writing, within 5 working days of receipt.
• The membership forms are checked for eligibility (and the applicant invited to provide more if fewer than 500 are found to be satisfactory)
• If everything is in order then the party secretary will be notified, in writing, within 5 working days of receipt of the application

When this stage is reached all requirements for registration will have been met except for formal consideration of the party name (and any abbreviation) for acceptability.

s.63.

Seek public comment

A notice is placed in the public notices column of the Sunday Star-Times, Sunday New, NZ Herald, Waikato Times, The Dominion Post, The Press (Christchurch), and Otago Daily Times, stating:

• the proposed name of the party
• the proposed abbreviation
• the names of any component parties
• and inviting comments, generally with a two week deadline, that might affect consideration of whether the party name is indecent, offensive, misleading, confusing or referring to a title or honour.

The notice is also placed on this website, with the addition of details of the applicant. 

Comments, if any, are considered and the applicant may be asked to respond to any comments.

s.65.

Make a decision

The commission considers the application at a meeting, along with any public comment and party responses received.

If the commission is satisfied that the name (and any abbreviation) are acceptable and that the application and enclosures are satisfactory then it will register the party.

Once the Electoral Commission meeting has accepted an application then within 10 working days it:

1. Enters the party's details in the Register of Political Parties.
2. Writes to the applicant with notification of registration
3. Issues a media statement advising that the party has been registered
4. Publishes notice of the registration in the New Zealand Gazette.
5. Notifies the Chief Electoral Office that the party has been registered
6. Writes to the party secretary requesting that the party's membership rules and candidate selection rules be supplied within one month (if not previously supplied.)

If the Electoral Commission finds that the name (and any abbreviation) or that the application and enclosures are not satisfactory then it will refuse to register the party and will write to the applicant explaining why within 10 working days. The Electoral Commission also issues a media statement advising that the party has not been registered.

s.67.

Does a party stay on the register once it is registered?

Yes, unless:

• the party secretary requests that its registration be cancelled; or
• the Electoral Commission determines that the registration be cancelled as the party no longer has at least 500 eligible members

s.70.

How can a political party's registration be cancelled?

If cancellation is not being considered at the request of the party and the commission believes that the party may no longer have at least 500 eligible members then the commission will discuss the situation with the party secretary and give the party an opportunity to make submissions before any decision to cancel registration is considered.

Within 10 working days of a decision to cancel a party's registration it will:

• Inform the party secretary.
• Record the cancellation on the register of political parties.
• Issue a media release.
• Publish a notice of the cancellation in the New Zealand Gazette.

A party that has had its registration cancelled may still contest electorate seats or later make a fresh application for registration if its circumstances change.

s.70.