Your guide to minor parties in the 2026 Victorian state election

Along with Labor, the Liberals, Nationals, Greens and One Nation, there are almost 20 smaller parties running candidates in the Victorian election.

Some parties are only running in certain locations, while others have pledged to run a candidate in almost every available seat.

Here is your guide to the minor parties running in the state election.

Affordable Housing Now — Sustainable Australia Party

Formerly known as: Sustainable Population Party

Party background: A national party founded in 2010, Sustainable Australia currently has a small presence on councils in WA and NSW. 

The party most recently held a seat in the Victorian parliament from 2018 to 2022, with former MP Clifford Hayes representing the Southern Metropolitan Region.

Key policies: Sustainable Australia has focused its policy platform on delivering a plan to address the housing crisis. Its policy platform is to deliver lower rents, no stamp duty, slower migration and more social housing. Sustainable Australia said it has no plans to advocate for legal changes outside its policy platform. 

Candidates: Sustainable Australia is running candidates in all eight upper house regions. 

It is not running candidates for the lower house. 

Animal Justice Party

Party background: Animal Justice Party currently has one MP sitting in parliament. That is the Member for Northern Victoria Region, Georgie Purcell.

Key policies: Animal Justice Party is campaigning on a suite of animal welfare policies. It includes:

• Abolishing animal farming with the rapid phasing out and banning of factory farming, aquaculture and live animal export
• Banning duck hunting in Victoria
• Banning puppy and kitten farms, and banning the sale of fur products
• Introducing subsidies for veterinary care, and making vet services exempt from GST
• Introducing tobacco-style laws regulating processed meat, including banning its sale to minors, mandating health warnings and introducing a tax on the products

Candidates: The party will run candidates in the lower house seats of Benambra, Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Broadmeadows, Brunswick, Bundoora, Carrum, Eildon, Eltham, Eureka, Euroa, Evelyn, Frankston, Geelong, Gippsland South, Greenvale, Hastings, Kalkallo, Kororoit, Kew, Lara, Laverton, Macedon, Melbourne, Melton, Mildura, Mill Park, Monbulk, Murray Plains, Nepean, Niddrie, Ovens Valley, Prahran, Ringwood, Shepparton, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Wendouree and Yan Yean.

The party will also look to retain its Northern Victoria seat in the upper house, and will run candidates in the Eastern Victoria Region.

Australian Citizens Party

Formerly known as: Citizens Electoral Council

Party background: A national party founded in 1988, the party won a shock victory in the 1988 Barambah by-election in Queensland. The party changed its name in 2019.

Key policies: Australian Citizens Party has pledged to open a state-owned bank using post offices as branches and use the bank to help build 200,000 new homes. It also pledges to institute a two-year rent freeze, and outlaw the sale of state assets while mandating all electricity is sold via the State Electricity Commission.

Candidates: Australian Citizens Party will run lower house candidates in Berwick, Bentleigh, Greenvale and Polwarth.

It will also run candidates in South-Eastern Metropolitan and Northern Victoria regions.

Australian Democrats

Party background: The Australian Democrats are a national party founded in 1977 by former Liberal MP Don Chipp, who famously proclaimed he would "keep the bastards honest". Former Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick will run for Western Victoria Region on an Australian Democrats ticket this election.

Key policies: The Australian Democrats have three major policy branches in the coming election:

• Reforming Victoria's upper house by adopting proportional representation and abolishing regions
• Addressing crime by creating Safety and Prevention Hubs in 10 key areas
• Establishing an independent infrastructure authority to oversee major projects and crack down on corruption

Candidates: The Australian Democrats will run lower house candidates in Lowan and Richmond.

It will run upper house candidates in Northern Metropolitan, South-Eastern Metropolitan, Western Victoria, North-Eastern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan and Southern Metropolitan regions.

Christian Alliance Party — Reform AU

Formerly known as: End Mass Immigration — Reform AU, Companions and Pets Party.

Party background: The party has undergone numerous name changes and is not to be confused with the similarly named Reform Australia Party.

Registered officer Milton Wilde most recently ran in the 2026 Nepean by-election, garnering 0.4 per cent of the vote. He previously ran in state and federal elections as a candidate for political parties founded by Clive Palmer. 

Key policies: None listed. 

Candidates: The party will run candidates in South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, including Mr Wilde.

Climate Action Now

Also known as: Save the Environment Party

Party background: Climate Action Now was founded by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit to use Victoria's group voting ticket system to funnel votes from left-wing voters to right-wing parties. Group voting tickets have since been abolished in the state. Ms Smit previously told the ABC she does care about the environment and denied the party is a front.

Key policies: On its website, Climate Action Now has a suite of environmental policies as election pledges, including improving bushfire management in the state, controlling brumby and wild boar populations and scaling back foreign-owned renewable projects in Victoria.

Candidates: The party will contest Footscray, Pascoe Vale, Prahran and Preston. 

Democratic Labour Party

Party background: Founded in 1978, the Democratic Labour Party is a national party which traces its origins to a split with the Labor Party in 1955. It most recently held two seats in Victorian parliament, after former Liberal MP Bernie Finn and former Labor MP Adem Somyurek joined the DLP after being ousted from their own parties. Both MPs have since left the DLP.

Key policies: The party has not announced policies for the coming Victorian election, but defines itself as fighting for workers' rights, small business, religious freedom and strong family values.

Candidates: The Democratic Labour Party will run for the lower house seats of Bayswater, Box Hill, Glen Waverley, Morwell, Niddrie, Pakenham, Point Cook, Ringwood, Ripon, Sunbury, Sydenham and Werribee.

The party is also running for all eight upper house regions.

Family First Victoria

Party background: Family First is a national party first founded in 2002. After merging with the now-defunct Australian Conservatives, it re-formed in 2021. Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming has joined Family First Victoria as the party's state leader, and will look to retain her seat in Western Metropolitan Region in the coming election.

Key policies: Family First Victoria has a broad range of policies centred around what it describes as its Judeo-Christian ethics. These include pledges to: 

• Scrap the Treaty with Victoria's First Peoples
• Provide tax cuts for families and married couples
• Ban surrogacy and egg and sperm donation
• Repeal euthanasia laws
• Repeal anti-conversion therapy laws
• Phase out poker machines
• Green-light nuclear power and continue the use of coal-fired power plants

Candidates: The party has lower house candidates contesting in Ashwood, Bass, Bayswater, Bellarine, Benambra, Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Berwick, Box Hill, Brighton, Broadmeadows, Bulleen, Bundoora, Caulfield, Cranbourne, Croydon, Dandenong, Eildon, Eureka, Euroa, Evelyn, Footscray, Frankston, Geelong, Gippsland East, Glen Waverley, Greenvale, Hawthorn, Ivanhoe, Kalkallo, Kew, Kororoit, Lara, Laverton, Lowan, Macedon, Melton, Mildura, Mill Park, Monbulk, Mordialloc, Morwell, Mulgrave, Murray Plains, Narracan, Narre Warren North, Narre Warren South, Nepean, Niddrie, Northcote, Oakleigh, Ovens Valley, Pascoe Vale, Point Cook, Polwarth, Preston, Ringwood, Ripon, Rowville, Shepparton, South Barwon, South-West Coast, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Thomastown, Wendouree, Werribee, Williamstown and Yan Yean.

Family First will run upper house candidates in Southern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victoria, Northern Victoria and North-Eastern Metropolitan regions.

Free Palestine

Party background: Free Palestine was founded by YouTuber Avi Yemini to redirect votes from the political left to right-wing parties. Mr Yemini said the party was designed to exploit the protest vote, and was based on similar tactics used by Climate Action Now founder Monica Smit. The group voting ticket system has now been abolished in Victoria.

Key policies: On its policy page, the Free Palestine party states it supports unity, social cohesion and anti-corruption reforms. Mr Yemini told the ABC earlier this year he planned to funnel votes away from Labor and the Greens.

Candidates: Free Palestine is running lower house candidates in Footscray, Northcote, Pascoe Vale, Prahran and Preston.

I'm Voting to Avoid the Fine

Party background: The party was founded by Daniel Smit, brother of Climate Action Now founder Monica Smit. The party was formed to exploit Victoria's group voting ticket system, and said it would divert its preferences to One Nation. Group voting tickets have since been abolished in the state.

Key policies: On its website, I'm Voting to Avoid the Fine states its policies are the end of compulsory voting and the removal of the fine for not voting. 

Candidates: The party will run for lower house seats in Footscray, Northcote, Pascoe Vale and Preston.

Legalise Cannabis Victoria

Party background: Legalise Cannabis is a national party formed in 1993, and currently holds seats in three different state parliaments. Two of those seats are in Victoria with MP Rachel Payne representing South-Eastern Metropolitan Region and MP David Ettershank representing Western Metropolitan Region. Mr Ettershank announced this year he will not be standing for re-election.

Key policies: Legalise Cannabis will continue its campaign to legalise marijuana for adults in Victoria and to grow the hemp industry.

Candidates: In the lower house, the party is running for the seats of Carrum, Cranbourne, Frankston, Mordialloc and Narre Warren North.

The party will also run for every upper house region.

Libertarian Party

Formerly known as: Liberal Democrats

Party background: Founded in 2001, the Libertarian Party is focused on libertarian values emphasising small government. Per the party website, every candidate for the Libertarians takes a public pledge to never vote for an increase in taxes or a reduction in liberty if elected. It is currently represented by MP David Limbrick who holds the party's sole seat.

Key policies: Libertarian Party policies are aimed at less government intervention, with pledges to: 

• Scrap stamp duty, payroll tax and zoning restrictions
• Green-light nuclear and coal power projects while removing net zero targets
• Cancel the Suburban Rail Loop
• Enact higher requirements for granting bail
• Introduce UK-style home protection laws

Candidates: In the lower house, the Libertarian Party has candidates for Benambra, Berwick, Brighton, Carrum, Clarinda, Cranbourne, Croydon, Dandenong, Eltham, Malvern, Melbourne, Mordialloc, Mulgrave, Narre Warren North, Narre Warren South, Northcote, Ovens Valley, Pakenham, Richmond, Ripon, Rowville, Warrandyte and Yan Yean.

In the upper house, it will run candidates in North-Eastern Metropolitan, South-Eastern Metropolitan and Western Victoria regions.

Put Australia First, Save the Environment

Formerly known as: New Democrats

Party background: Founded by former Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela, who resigned from the party in 2022 after alleging she was bullied. The party's name change was approved by the VEC in August.

Key policies: None listed.

Candidates: Not contesting.

Safety Victoria — Violent Crime Prevention

Formerly known as: Freedom Party of Victoria

Party background: Founded in 2022 by Morgan Jonas on an anti-lockdown platform, the party has shifted its focus to crime. 

Key policies: The party lists a range of policies targeting crime, including the establishing of a voluntary community safety service, mandatory adult sentencing for youth offenders and UK-style home defence laws.

Candidates: Party founder Morgan Jonas will run in the seat of Prahran.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party

Formerly known as: Shooters Party, Shooters and Fishers Party

Party background: Founded in 1992, the party is currently represented in parliament by Member for Eastern Victoria Jeff Bourman, who has held the seat since 2014.

Key policies: The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party has pledged to:

• Repeal changes made by the 2026 Firearms Amendment Act, which restricted who could hold a firearms licence and made the Firearms Prohibition Order scheme permanent
• Protect duck hunting in the state, and expand other forms of hunting such as hound hunting and bow hunting for carp
• Reintroduce a sustainable native timber industry
• Axe the emergency services volunteer levy

Candidates: MP Jeff Bourman will look to retain his seat in Eastern Victoria Region, while the party will also run candidates in Northern Victoria and Western Victoria regions in the upper house.

The party has announced lower house candidates in the seats of Gippsland East and Ripon.

Socialist Alliance

Party background: Socialist Alliance is a national party founded in 2001. The party co-founded the Victorian Socialists in 2018 but split two years later, with the parties now running separate campaigns. One of its candidates, Sue Bolton, is currently a Merri-bek City councillor.

Key policies: Among its policies, Socialist Alliance has pledged to:

• Freeze rents for 10 years and build 100,000 new public homes
• Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16
• Support Treaty
• Make public transport free
• Enact a moratorium on data centres and end all subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels, with a plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2035
• Remove the wage cap on public sector workers
• Mandate that its MPs would only take "an average worker's wage" if elected, and redistribute the money into campaigns

Candidates: Socialist Alliance is running six candidates in the lower house, mainly focused in Melbourne's north and the Geelong area in Bellarine, Broadmeadows, Geelong, Lara, Pascoe Vale and South Barwon.

The party is also running candidates for Northern Metropolitan and Western Victoria regions.

The Republican Make Australia Great Again

Party background: The party was first registered on September 30 this year. Its founder Raj Kumar Saini is a former Labor staffer and Australian Workers' Union delegate. 

Key policies:  The Republican Make Australia Great Again website lists nine policy areas of focus, including cost of living, safer communities, affordable housing, growth areas and infrastructure, healthcare, mental health, education, small business and government accountability. The party pledges to cut red tape across the state. ABC analysis of the party's website found much of the text is AI-generated. 

Candidates: The Republican Make Australia Great Again will run lower house candidates in Footscray, Kororoit, Laverton, Niddrie, Point Cook, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Williamstown and Werribee.

It will also run for the upper house regions of Western Metropolitan and Western Victoria.

The West Party

Party background: The West Party was founded in 2024 by businessman Paul Hopper to represent the interests of Melbourne's western suburbs. Mr Hopper unsuccessfully contested the Werribee seat in the 2022 election and 2025 by-election, but will stand again for the seat in November.

Key policies: The West Party has pledged to: 

• Crack down on retail and street crime with harsher penalties for repeat offenders and investment in prevention programs
• Push for fewer poker machines in Melbourne's west
• Enact stricter planning controls over data centres
• Provide more investment in roads and public transport in the western suburbs
• Deliver more infrastructure in the west before new homes are planned and built

Candidates: The party will contest 12 districts in Melbourne's western suburbs, with candidates running in Footscray, Kororoit, Laverton, Melton, Niddrie, Point Cook, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Werribee and Williamstown.

It will also field candidates in the upper house contest for Western Metropolitan Region.

Victorian Socialists

Party background: Victorian Socialists formed in 2018, undergoing a split from Socialist Alliance in 2020. The party currently holds a seat on the City of Greater Bendigo council, but councillor Owen Cosgriff withdrew from running in this year's state election citing health concerns.

Key policies: Victorian Socialists have pledged to:

• Deliver a five-year rent freeze and 150,000 new public homes
• Enact a $35 minimum wage on government-funded work, while capping MPs' wages
• Introduce a wealth tax on billionaires and luxury properties, and double payroll taxes for large companies
• The party states it will reverse all funding increases to Victoria Police over the last decade and direct the funding into social welfare, while disarming police officers on patrol
• Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16

Candidates: Victorian Socialists are running a wide-ranging campaign in the lower house, with candidates in all 88 seats.

It will also run candidates in every upper house region.

The founders of several parties listed above told the ABC they were formed to game Victoria's group voting ticket system.

Victoria was the last state in Australia to still be using the system until that changed in September.

Previously, most voters selected a single party "above the line" on their ballot papers, and in doing so, handed over all their decisions about preference allocations to that party.

Some MPs reported that preference brokers charged as little as $50,000 to construct preference deals and secure upper house seats.

This led to several people founding their own parties including Climate Action Now, Free Palestine and I'm Voting to Avoid the Fine to divert preferences away from one side of the political spectrum to another.

The group voting ticket system has now been abolished by parliament, meaning these parties will no longer be able to redirect their preferences.