How The Nationals Works

The Nationals’ objective is to win as many seats as possible in the Parliaments of Australia and advance our Party policy and philosophy on behalf of the people we represent.

The Party comprises Parliamentary and organisational wings.  The Nationals Parliamentary Party comprises elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators whose responsibility is to represent the Party’s constituents in Australia’s State and Federal Parliaments.  The Nationals Party organisation is responsible for fielding candidates for election to Parliament and providing policy, campaign and organisational support for the Party’s candidate, MPs and Senators.

The Nationals Parliamentary Party

In Federal Parliament, The Nationals’ Parliamentary Party comprises all those Nationals elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives. It also includes elected Members or Senator from the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party who choose to sit in the Federal Parliament with The Nationals.

In State Parliament, The Nationals’ Parliamentary Party comprises all those Nationals elected to their State’s Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils.

The respective Nationals Parliamentary Parties maintain their own operating and meeting procedures and elect their own office bearers, including the Parliamentary Leader and Deputy Leader, and the Senate Leader and Deputy Leader.

The Nationals Organisation

Membership

Membership of The Nationals is open to any Australian who shares the Party’s values and wants to help build a better future for our nation.

A great strength of The Nationals is the opportunity it provides members to participate in all the Party’s processes.  The extent of that involvement is in each member’s own hands.

Our members help develop policy through involvement in Policy Committees or as delegates to Party Conferences and Central Councils.  They help run election campaigns locally, select candidates and may stand for selection themselves as a political candidate or elected Party official.

The volunteer contribution that The Nationals’ members make provides vital support for the Party’s operation and election campaigns.

Join The Nationals here

Structure

The Nationals are represented in five states – Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. While all have similar operational structures, each is an independent and autonomous Party organisation with its own Constitution and Rules.

The State Parties join together in an affiliation to form The Nationals.

Each State Party’s members belong to Branches that are usually geographically based on towns, cities or local areas.  The Branches send delegates to the State Party’s Annual State Conference, at which State policy is decided.  Any Federal issues that are discussed and supported at these State Conferences are then forwarded for consideration by The Nationals Federal Council or Conference.

Each of the State Parties is governed by a Central Council, comprising delegates from all State and Federal Electorates and State and Federal Parliamentary representatives within that State.  The Central Councils are able to make policy decisions between Annual Conferences and usually meet two to four times a year.

The State Parties are administered on a day-to-day basis by Management Committees or Central Executives, which meet monthly or bi-monthly.

Federal Secretariat

Three bodies manage the administration and policy decisions of The Nationals organisation federally – the Federal Management Committee, Federal Council and Federal Conference.

The work of these bodies and their coordination with the Federal Parliamentary Party is supported by a Federal Secretariat, located in Canberra.  It was founded by the then Federal Leader, Sir John McEwen and opened on November 4, 1968.

The Federal Secretariat organises meetings of the Federal Management Committee, Federal Council and Federal Conference.  It coordinates the Party’s Federal election campaigns and publishes a range of material for use by Federal and State Parliamentarians and National Parties.  It also provides research, information and training to Federal Parliamentarians and their staff, to State Parliamentarians and the State Parties, and to Federal election candidates.

Federal Management Committee

The Federal Management Committee is made up of the Federal President, Federal Vice-President, Federal Treasurer, Federal Secretary (all of whom are appointed annually by Federal Council); the Federal Parliamentary Leader, Deputy Leader and Leader in the Senate; the Presidents of affiliated State Parties; the President of the Women's Federal Council, the Federal President of the Young Nationals; and the Immediate Past-Federal President.

Meet The Nationals Federal Management Committee here

Federal Council

The Federal Council meets once a year and is the supreme governing body of The Nationals. It has the power to make policy decisions, alter the Party's Federal Constitution, establish committees, set fees payable by the affiliated Parties, admit organisations to affiliation or association and terminate such affiliations or associations.
More than half of Federal Council delegates are Branch members. All delegates have the right to vote.

Traditionally, Federal Council meets in Canberra, following the Party’s State Conferences. This ensures that resolutions on Federal issues from State Conferences can be considered by Federal Council. If adopted, those resolutions become Federal Party policy.

Federal Conference

The Federal Constitution provides for a Federal Conference to be convened once every three years or once in the life of each Federal Parliament.

Federal Conference is designed to ensure maximum participation by the Branch members of the Party right around Australia. Each Federal Electorate Council may send three delegates to Conference.

At least two-thirds of Federal conferences delegates are local Branch members. This ensures Parliamentary or other organisational numbers do not dominate voting outcomes.

Party Policy and the Parliamentary Parties

The Nationals Parliamentary Parties are required to follow the Party’s policies as far as possible.  The Nationals Parliamentary Leaders report to their respective Party organisations on the progress of policy implementation, including any occasions when they will not or cannot adopt a policy position that is consistent with that of the Party.

The Nationals apply this relative freedom recognising that its Parliamentarians have to make policy decisions on an almost daily basis, and in light of changing political circumstances.  Our primary objective is to provide strong, effective representation to the communities it represents.