Australian Christians | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | AC |
| Leader | Maryka Groenewald |
| President | Mike Crichton |
| Founded | 2011; 15 years ago (2011) |
| Registered | 15 December 2011; 14 years ago (15 December 2011) |
| Headquarters | 16 Guthrie Street, Osborne Park, Western Australia, 6017 |
| Ideology | Conservatism[1] Social conservatism Christian right |
| Political position | Right-wing tofar-right[2] |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Western Australian Legislative Council | 1 / 37 |
| City of Rockingham | 1 / 13 |
| Website | |
| australianchristians | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
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TheAustralian Christians (AC), sometimes referred to as theAustralian Christians Party (ACP), is a political party in Australia that issocially conservative andChristian-conservative. It was founded in 2011 and was registered by theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 15 December 2011.[3]
The party is primarily active inWestern Australia and contests both state and federal elections, and elected its first representative to theParliament of Western Australia at the2025 Western Australian state election. The party aims to represent what it sees asChristian values.[4]
The party was formed after the Victorian and Western Australian branches of theChristian Democratic Party (CDP) voted to form a new party. The party has endorsed senate candidates in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania and plans to expand into South Australia and Queensland.[5] The party has decided not to operate in New South Wales, where the CDP has one seat in theLegislative Council.[6]
The party contested the2012 Melbourne state by-election, receiving about 1% of the vote. The party contested the2013 Western Australian state election, receiving 1.95% of the vote.[7]
It also contested the 2013, 2016 and 2019 federal elections. At the2016 federal election, Australian Christians fielded senate candidates for Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland and a total of eighteen candidates for seats in theHouse of Representatives across Victoria and Western Australia
The Party has been growing across Western Australia, and has contested all State and by-elections since 2011. The Party is headquartered in Osborne Park, WA.
In May 2017,Cory Bernardi, the leader of theAustralian Conservatives, met the national and Victoria state leaders of the Australian Christians to discuss a merger between the two parties.[8] In September 2017, the Victoria state leadership of the Australian Christians agreed to merge the branch with the Conservatives, whilst the WA branch remained. (The Australian Conservatives subsequently ceased operating in June 2019).
The Western Australian branch stood candidates for both the House of Representatives and the Senate at the2019 federal election.[9] It fielded candidates at the 2021 WA state election but did not win any seats.
The May 2022 federal election saw the Australian Christians contest WA seats, both in the senate and for nine in the House of Representatives.[10]
In October 2023, the party had its first ever electoral victory duringthat year's Western Australian local elections, with WA branch president Mike Crichton elected inRockingham.[11][12] Crichton had run in theRockingham by-election earlier in the year, receiving 2.44% of the vote.[13]
In the2025 Western Australian state election, the party won its first ever seat in the Legislative Council, with party leaderMaryka Groenewald being elected.[14]
The Australian Christians opposeabortion,assisted suicide,euthanasia,pornography,homosexuality andsame-sex marriage.[15][16][17] It wants to "uphold marriage as the bond of union between a man and a woman, as husband and wife", ISP filtering on all devices to block "harmful content and pornography" and wants the Bible to be the foundation for laws, education and culture in Australia.[15][17]
The party also "opposes the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research" and "believes the use of reproductive technology should be limited to married, opposite-sex couples".[18]
Senate
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | # of overall seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 54,154 | 0.40 #19 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 |  0 |
| 2016 | 66,525 | 0.48 #18 | 0 / 76 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2019 | 23,983 | 0.16 #28 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2022 | 33,143 | 0.22 #21 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2025 | 102,519 | 0.64 #13 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | Legislative Council | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | |
| 2013 | 21,451 | 1.81 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 23,877 | 1.95 | 0 / 36 | 0 |
| 2017 | 27,724 | 2.10 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 26,209 | 1.94 #7 | 0 / 36 | 0 |
| 2021 | 20,869 | 1.48 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 28,051 | 1.95 #6 | 0 / 36 | 0 |
| 2025 | 48,407 | 3.17 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 41,348 | 2.66 #6 | 1 / 36 | 1 |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | Legislative Council | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | |
| 2014 | 26,560 | 0.79 | 0 / 88 | 0 | 35,164 | 1.03 #11 | 0 / 40 | 0 |
The number of former members of conservative Christian parties, including Family First and the Australian Christians ...
Oppose abortion and assisted suicide reforms
Australian Christians
Says its candidates are all "committed Christians" who oppose abortion, homosexuality, pornography and euthanasia.
The party is against same-sex marriage and instead believes marriage should be between a man and woman. It opposes abortion and euthanasia.
| Federalparliamentary parties | |
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| State and territory parliaments (parties not represented federally) |
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| OtherAEC-registered parties | |
