Wheeley v Australian Electoral Commissioner

The applicant, Mr Wheeley, sought judicial review of a decision by the Australian Electoral Commissioner to refuse to register his political party, the "Australian Protectionist Party". The matter came before Gummow J of the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue was whether the Commissioner had erred in law in refusing registration. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether the Commissioner had correctly interpreted and applied the provisions of the *Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918* (Cth) concerning the registration of political parties, particularly in relation to the party's name and the requirement for a minimum number of members.

Gummow J found that the Commissioner had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the Act. His Honour noted that the Act requires a political party to have at least 500 members enrolled on the electoral roll to be eligible for registration. The applicant had failed to demonstrate that this threshold had been met. Furthermore, the Commissioner was entitled to consider whether the proposed party name was misleading or deceptive, and in this instance, the Commissioner's assessment that the name "Australian Protectionist Party" was likely to mislead voters as to the party's policies was a reasonable exercise of his discretion under the Act.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.