Liberal Democratic Party and Australian Electoral Commission

The Liberal Democratic Party and the Australian Electoral Commission were the parties involved in this matter before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute concerned a decision by a delegate of the Australian Electoral Commission to uphold an objection under section 134A of the *Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918* (Cth) against the continued use of the name ‘Liberal Democratic Party’ and its abbreviation ‘Liberal Democrats’. The Party sought urgent judicial review of this decision and an application for a stay of the delegate's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to entertain an application for review of the delegate's decision under section 134A of the *Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918*. Ancillary to this, the Tribunal was required to determine if it had the power to grant a stay of the delegate's decision pending any potential review.

The Tribunal reasoned that the *Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918* did not confer jurisdiction on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review decisions made under section 134A. Consequently, as the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear the substantive review application, it also lacked the power to grant the requested stay of the delegate's decision.

Accordingly, the applications for review and for a stay were dismissed.