One Nation faces being struck off in Queensland after failing to file audited financial statements

29 Jul, 00:52. AU edition

Breach exposes Pauline Hanson to possible fines as party given deadline to comply by 18 August

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party faces being struck off in Queensland after failing its legal obligation to lodge audited financial statements with the state’s regulator.

The breach exposes Hanson and the New South Wales One Nation senator Sean Bell to financial penalties, with Hanson registered as president and Bell as secretary for the party in Queensland where it is headquartered.

One Nation, which has been facing growing scrutiny of its finances as it has surged in popularity over the past year, has failed to lodge three years of audited financial reports.

Guardian Australia revealed last month that the party has repeatedly failed to meet the legal requirements for running an incorporated association in the state, including failing to hold annual general meetings on time and repeatedly filing annual and financial reports late.

The returns filed up until 2022 also revealed more than $1m in missing or worthless assets that the party has refused to explain, prompting criticism of its “sloppy” accounting methods.

In June, Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading requested that the party comply with its obligations to file the last three years of annual returns.

The party has since lodged the overdue annual returns, filing them with the regulator on 3 July.

But the returns did not include proper financial statements as required under the act.

“One Nation Queensland Division Inc has lodged its annual returns to the OFT for the years 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, but these returns did not include the audited financial statements as required by the Associations Incorporation Act 1981,” a spokesperson for the regulator said.

“The Office of Fair Trading has given the association until 18 August 2026 to lodge the outstanding financial statements.”

Failure to meet this deadline will result in an investigation by the regulator, which may lead to enforcement action.

This can include the issue of infringement notice, or a “show cause” notice which is the first step taken by the regulator before the association’s incorporation is cancelled and struck off the state’s register.

Michael Bradley, barrister and partner at Marque Lawyers, said there was no legal requirement for a registered political party to be an incorporated association, but believed the structure gave the party centralised legal control.

“To be registered as a political party, you don’t have to be a recognised legal entity. It’s a more amorphous concept,” Bradley told The Guardian.

“If the association is deregistered, then it’s like a company being wound up, so it would have to go through a similar sort of process.

“For electoral law purposes, if it is registered as a political entity … then that registration would have to cease, so … it could have significant consequences politically.

“But it would also be easily replaced by a new entity, so it wouldn’t be the end of Pauline Hanson.”

Under the act, members of the management committee of an incorporated association must ensure financial statements are lodged for the association’s last reportable financial year or face financial penalties.

According to the party’s latest update to the regulator, Hanson and Bell hold the positions of president and secretary, while Alex Jones remains as treasurer.

In 2023 Jones pleaded guilty to attempted electoral fraud after trying to deceive the Queensland Electoral Commission over the timing of a $24,000 claim for payment. He was fined $1,000, with no conviction recorded after the magistrate noted his “glowing” community credentials.

One Nation has been contacted for comment.