Libertarian Party
Abbreviation	LP LBT[1]
President	Anthony Bull[2]
Registered Officer (AEC)	Robert McCathie[3]
Founder	John Humphreys[4]
Founded	2001; 25 years ago (2001)
Registered	2007 (as LDP) 2024 (as Libertarian Party)
Headquarters	Docklands,Melbourne,Victoria
Ideology	Right-libertarianism[5] Conservatism[6] Classical liberalism[7]
Political position	Right-wing[8][9]
International affiliation	International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colours	Burgundy   Yellow
House of Representatives	0 / 150
Senate	0 / 76
New South Wales Legislative Council	1 / 42
Victorian Legislative Council	1 / 40
Local government councillors (NSW)	10 / 1,480
Local government councillors (Vic)	2 / 656
Website
www.libertarians.org.au
Politics of Australia Political parties Elections

TheLibertarian Party (LP), formerly known as theLiberal Democratic Party (LDP), is anAustralian political party founded inCanberra in 2001. The party espouses smaller government and a philosophy stated in 2013 to be "broadly described asclassical liberal orlibertarian",^[10] such as lower taxes, opposing restrictions oncivil liberties, decentralisation, uranium mining, and the relaxation of smoking laws.^[11] The party is alsosocially conservative.^[6]

As of February 2025, the party is registered in theAustralian Capital Territory,New South Wales,Queensland,South Australia,Victoria, andWestern Australia^[12] as well as for federal elections with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).^[13]

The Liberal Democratic Party was founded in 2001 as a political party registered in theAustralian Capital Territory. It first contested elections in the2001 ACT election, receiving 1 percent of the vote.^[14] The party also contested the2004 ACT election, receiving 1.3 percent of the vote.^[15]

In 2006, changes to the Electoral Act by the Howard government forced all parties without parliamentary representation to deregister and re-register under stricter naming rules.^[16] Advised by the Australian Electoral Commission that federal registration under the original name was uncertain given opposition by theLiberal Party of Australia, the party chose to register federally as the Liberty and Democracy Party in 2007.^[17] The Liberty and Democracy Party contested2007 federal election, winning 17,048 votes (0.14 percent) in the lower house and 16,942 votes (0.13 percent) in the upper house.

In 2008, the party successfully applied to the Australian Electoral Commission to change its federally registered name to Liberal Democratic Party.^[18] During this period, the party remained registered under its original name in theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT).^[19]

In 2010, the party contested the2010 federal election, receiving 1.8 percent of the nationalsenate vote^[20] and an average of 1.3 percent across the 21 lower house seats it contested, with a best of 5.52 percent inGippsland.

In 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party had its first successful election win. Jeff Pettett was elected as aCouncillor to theKu-ring-gai Council in northernmetropolitan Sydney at the New South Wales local government elections, gaining 24 per cent of vote in the absence of Liberal Party candidates.^[21] Clinton Mead was elected as aCouncillor to theCampbelltown Council in southernmetropolitan Sydney at the New South Wales local government elections.

Prior to the2012 Ramsay andPort Adelaide state by-elections in South Australia, the polls inThe Advertiser newspaper gave the LDP 23 percent and 14 percent of the vote respectively in the absence of Liberal Party candidates. The LDP ended up with votes of 13.3 percent and 7.3 percent respectively. The paper described the LDP as "a hardline liberal party that demands abolition of government welfare as well as the minimum wage, seatbelts and bike helmets. It backs legalisation of marijuana and increased freedom to access pornography".^[22]

At the2013 federal election, LDP candidateDavid Leyonhjelm was elected to the Senate after polling the third highest vote in the state ofNew South Wales after theLiberal Party of Australia and theAustralian Labor Party.^[23] According to Leyonhjelm, a portion of their vote probably came from their 'first position' on the long senate ballot paper and voters potentially being confused with his party and other contesting parties such as the Liberals, theAustralian Democrats and the Christian Democratic Party.^[24] However, Leyonhjelm points to the fact that the Liberal Democrats' vote in South Australia, where they were fifth on the ballot, rose 3 percentage points. He also points to the fact that thedonkey vote generally only produces swings of +1 or 2 percentage points to the party listed first on the ballot.^[25] Leyonhjelm organised preferences for several different, but closely entwined, political parties seeking election to the Senate, including theOutdoor Recreation Party,Smokers' Rights Party and theRepublican Party of Australia.^[26]Australian Sex Party candidateFiona Patten alleged Leyonhjelm intentionally failed to lodge ticket voting preferences forms, reneging on a preference deal,^[27] but Leyonhjelm claimed that there was a mistake entering the AEC fax number.^[28] The Liberal Democrats were not involved inGlenn Druery'sMinor Party Alliance during the election which assisted in negotiating preference flows between minor parties.^[29] On 1 July 2014, David Leyonhjelm became the Liberal Democratic Party's first senator.

Shortly after David Leyonhjelm's Senate victory, Liberal Democrats councillor Clinton Mead was elected Mayor of theCity of Campbelltown in New South Wales.^[30]

In 2015, the Liberal Democrats registered with theVictorian Electoral Commission (VEC), and announced it would field upper-house candidates in the upcomingVictorian state election on 29 November 2014.^[31]In 2016, the Liberal Party sought to challenge the name of the party with the electoral commission, but ultimately abandoned the action.^[32]

David Leyonhjelm was re-elected with a 3.1 percent (−6.4) primary vote, or 139,000 votes, at the2016 double dissolution federal election.^[33] Gabriel Buckley, the LDP's lead candidate in Queensland, marginally misses out on a seat.^[34]

WA elections were held 11 March 2017, where the state's first LDP member,Aaron Stonehouse, was elected.^[30]

In May 2017, formerLeader of the Opposition and political commentatorMark Latham left theAustralian Labor Party and joined the LDP.^[35]

In 2018, candidatesTim Quilty andDavid Limbrick were elected to theVictorian Legislative Council (state upper house). In the same year,Mark Latham left the party to become the leader ofOne Nation NSW division.^[36]

In 2019, David Leyonhjelm announced that he will be quitting federal parliament in order to contest theNew South Wales state election.^[37] This resulted inDuncan Spender being sworn in to fill Leyonhjelm's former seat until thenext Federal election.^[38] David Leyonhjelm did not get elected in the 2019 New South Wales election, securing only 0.46 of a seat quota.^[39] Duncan Spender also lost their Senate seat in the 2019 election.

In the2020 Victorian local elections, the party fielded 11 candidates state-wide. Two endorsed candidates were elected, Olga Quilty in Wodonga with a 5.83% first preference vote against 18 other candidates and Paul Barker in Torquay with a 11.67% first preference vote against nine other candidates.

On 18 May 2017, the Liberal Democratic Party formed a 'conservative bloc' withOne Nation and theShooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in theWestern Australia Legislative Council.^[6]

High Court challenge by John Ruddick bought on by the Liberal party consequential to legislative changes to prevent 'voter confusion' specifically with the 'Liberal Democrats'.^[40]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian MPs Quilty and Limbrick became outspoken critics of the Victorian Parliament, the Federal Parliament, and Australia's COVID response in whole. On August 17, 2021, while the Victorian Parliament was closed due to restrictions, the two protested park closures on the steps of Parliament in the presence of armed police.^[41] They refused to comply with a vaccine mandate for MP's, with Limbrick publicly destroying his vaccination status card.^[42]

In July 2021,Campbell Newman, the former Premier ofQueensland and Leader of theLiberal National Party of Queensland, resigned from the LNP, stating the LNP candidate in the2021 Stretton state by-election was "let down by a party and leadership that never stands up for anything".^[43] In August 2021, he announced he had joined the LDP to run as the party's lead Senate candidate in Queensland at the2022 Australian federal election.

On 16 October 2021, Quilty, Limbrick, and other opposition MPs were ejected from Victorian Parliament for refusing to disclose their vaccination status.^[44][45] After two weeks of exclusion, the MPs submitted their vaccination status on 28 October 2021, in order to return to parliament to oppose the legislative agenda of the government.^[46]

On 23 November 2021, the LDP announced a preference deal with theUnited Australia Party in the upcoming Australian elections where each party would encourage its members to choose the other as their second preference.^[47]

On 24 November 2021, Krystle Mitchell − an acting Senior Sergeant ofVictoria Police who resigned after speaking publicly against enforcing health orders − announced she would be running for the Senate with the LDP as the second candidate on their ticket in Victoria.^[48][49]

On 8 April 2022, SenatorSam McMahon joined the party after defecting from theCountry Liberal Party in January.^[50] This gave the federal parliamentary representation to the Liberal Democratic Party. McMahon would also be the lead Senate candidate for the party at the May federal election. She was unsuccessful in her election and the party lost parliamentary representation. AEC's consideration to deregister the party continued after the writs for the election were returned in June, and the party was deregistered at the federal level on 19 July 2022.^[13]

On 16 July 2023, the Libertarian Party Queensland (LPQ) was created as a standalone political party affiliated with the Libertarian Party (Australia). Richard Davies was elected as the president. It was then registered withElectoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) on 2 August 2024.^[81]

Due to changes in theCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and a subsequent objection to the party's name by theLiberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party applied to theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC) to change its name to the Liberty and Democracy Party in February 2022 in order to remain registered.^[51][52] The party then withdrew the name change application on 22 March 2022.^[53] On 1 April 2022, the AEC gave notice to the party that it would consider deregistering the latter, giving one month for the party to appeal the notice.^[54] However, as the writs for theMay federal election were issued the following week on 11 April, the party register then would be "frozen" and this meant the party was allowed to contest the election with its current name.^[55]

In May 2023, LDP members voted on a new name for the party.^[56][57] The party adopted the new name "Libertarian Party", and the logo of the party bears the abbreviation of the new name "LP". By January 2024, the Party had regained registration with the Australian Electoral Commission, under the new name.^[58]

TheVictorian Electoral Commission received an application from the party about a name change in June 2023.^[59] On 16 July 2023, all state party branches, with the exception of New South Wales, formally changed their names to the Libertarian Party.^[60] In October 2023, the party also applied for party registration federally with the AEC under the new party name.^[61] The federal party registration was approved on 12 January 2024.^[62]

The party contested under the new name for the first time at theMulgrave state by-election in Victoria in November 2023,^[63][64] and federally at theDunkley by-election in March 2024.^[65]

In March 2025, the Libertarian Party formed a joint ticket alliance called the Australia First Alliance (AFA) with the vaccine-scepticHEART Party andGerard Rennick People First.^[66][67] The party received its worst result since its initial founding receiving 0.54% of the vote for the House of Representatives.

The LP states that it adheres toclassical liberal,small government andlaissez-faire principles coupled with what the party considers as a high regard forindividual freedom andindividual responsibility.^[68]

The party does not hold a stance on abortion.^[69] In March 2025, the Libertarian Party member of the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament, John Ruddick opposed a proposed amendment to a law that would mean the majority of hospitals in NSW would provide abortion-related services.^[69]

Libertarian Party supported policies include:^[70][71][72]

• Opposes government imposed restrictions and mandates curtailingpersonal freedoms^[73]
• Make the company tax rate zero^[74]
• Reduce economic regulations, such as by cutting the number of workers at theAustralian Taxation Office by 50% and privatising ABC, SBS, and NBN^[74]
• Get rid of renewable energy targets and net-zero goals^[74]
• Abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Renewable Energy Target^[75]
• Federal budgets which are neither in surplus, nor deficit, butbalanced^[73][76]
• Abolish theDepartment of Education^[75]
• Support of a 20%flat rateincome tax with a $40,000tax free threshold^[73][77]
• Supports voluntarysuperannuation^[73]
• Supports freezing anddecentralising theminimum wage^[73]
• Supports utilisation ofnuclear energy^[73]
• Supportsdecentralisingeducation^[73]
• Supportsfree speech and opposescensorship (supports no government censorship of the internet)^[73]
• Supports targeting the production of pornography, where one or more parties may not be capable of giving consent^[78]
• Opposesmass surveillance anddigital identities^[73][79]
• Define a woman as "a member of the female sex irrespective of age."^[75]
• "Protect women's-only spaces"^[75]
• Opposesgender self-identification (would restrict identity documents such as birth certificates and passports from reflecting a person's gender identity)^[75]
• "Restrict gender transition surgery and hormone treatment to adults"^[80]
• Wants Australia to leave theWorld Health Organization (WHO)^[81]

Senate

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats won	No. of overall seats	+/–
2007[a]	16,942	0.13	0 / 40	0 / 76	—
2010[b]	230,191	1.81	0 / 40	0 / 76	0
2013[b]	523,831	3.91	1 / 40	1 / 76	1
2016[b]	298,915	2.16	1 / 76	1 / 76	0
2019[b]	169,735	1.16	0 / 40	0 / 76	1
2022[b]	340,132	2.26	0 / 40	0 / 76	0
2025[c]	83,746	0.54	0 / 40	0 / 76	0

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2019	96,999	2.18	0 / 42	—
2023	162,755	3.3	1 / 42	1

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2014	104,516	3.06	0 / 40
2018	89,428	2.50	2 / 40	2
2022	99,054	2.64	1 / 40	1

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2017	23,848	1.77	1 / 36	1
2021	9,218	0.64	0 / 36	1
2025	6,154	0.62	0 / 37

Image		Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		David Limbrick	22 June 2022 – present	VIC	Victorian Legislative Council (South-Eastern Metropolitan)	First in office from2018 untilApril 2022
		John Ruddick	20 April 2023 – present	NSW	New South Wales Legislative Council	First Libertarian member of theNSW parliament

Image		Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		John Larter	17 July 2024 – present	NSW	Snowy Valleys Council	First elected in2017, joined party while in office
		Paul Barker	October 2020 – present	VIC	Surf Coast Shire Council (Torquay Ward)
		Olga Quilty	October 2020 – present	VIC	Wodonga City Council
		Vince Ferreri	October 2024 – present	NSW	Camden Council (North)
		Rose Sicari	October 2024 – present	NSW	Camden Council (South)
		Michael Graham	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Phil Beazley	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Mal McKenzie	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Vanessa Pollak	October 2024 – present	NSW	Penrith City Council (South)
		Mark Hornshaw	October 2024 – present	NSW	Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
		Scott Yeomans	October 2024 – present	NSW	Singleton Council
		Gregory Harris	October 2024 – present	NSW	Upper Lachlan Shire Council

Image		Name	Term	Office	Notes
		David Leyonhjelm	1 July 2014 – 1 March 2019	Senator for New South Wales	Resigned to unsuccessfully contest2019 New South Wales state election
		Duncan Spender	20 March 2019 – 30 June 2019	Senator for New South Wales	Replaced Leyonhjelm. Lost seat at2019 election
		Sam McMahon	8 April 2022 – 20 May 2022	Senator for the Northern Territory	Joined party after leavingCLP. Lost seat at2022 election

Image		Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		Aaron Stonehouse	22 May 2017 – 21 May 2021	WA	Western Australian Legislative Council (South Metropolitan)	Lost seat at2021 election
		Tim Quilty	24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022	VIC	Victorian Legislative Council (Northern Victoria)	Lost seat at2022 election

Image		Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		Ben Buckley	October 2012 – October 2020	VIC	East Gippsland Shire Council
		Clinton Mead	8 September 2012 – 10 September 2016	NSW	Campbelltown City Council	Lost seat at2016 election
		Jeff Pettett	8 September 2012 – 2017	NSW	Ku-ring-gai Council (Comenarra Ward)	Left party
		Tim Quilty	22 October 2016 – 12 December 2018	VIC	Wodonga City Council	Elected toVictorian Legislative Council in2018
		Samuel Gunning	9 September 2017 – 4 December 2021	NSW	North Sydney Council (Wollstonecraft Ward)	Did not seek re-election in2021

The Australia Institute's 2019 report found that the Liberal Democratic Party had received political donations of $37,311 from pro-gun groups between July 2011 and March 2019. The report contextualises their donations as similar in value to the Nationals, Labor and Country Alliance, whilst being less than those to Katter's Australia Party, the Shooters Party, and the Liberal Party.^[82][83]

• List of political parties in Australia
• Free Trade Party

• Official website
• Libertarian Party Queensland

• 2001 establishments in Australia
• Classical liberal parties
• Conservative parties in Australia
• International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
• Liberal parties in Australia
• Libertarian parties
• Libertarian parties in Australia
• Non-interventionist parties
• Political parties established in 2001
• Political parties in Victoria (state)
• Political parties in New South Wales

• CS1 maint: url-status
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use Australian English from January 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Use dmy dates from January 2014