The Australian Electoral Commission is examining whether Pauline Hanson's One Nation party breached electoral funding laws after the party withdrew more than $800,000 in election spending claims following AEC inquiries, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.
Details of the AEC inquiries
Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show that the AEC questioned 143 items in One Nation's $6.01m public funding claim for the last federal election, totaling $809,648.11. The party voluntarily withdrew these items after the commission requested additional information to justify the expenses.
A senior compliance officer from the AEC emailed the party's operations manager, Alex Jones, in late October, stating that more information was needed to process the claim, including descriptions of goods and services and the dominant purpose of the expenditure. Jones responded by withdrawing the queried items to allow more time to assess the queries for the final claim.
Ongoing investigation and redacted documents
The AEC is now investigating whether One Nation breached electoral funding laws for payments to certain suppliers that were reimbursed in the claim. The commission has refused to release key documents detailing the party's funding claim, citing an ongoing compliance review that could be jeopardized if supplier identities were disclosed.
In its decision letter, the AEC stated that releasing the documents could forewarn third parties of the investigation's direction and prejudice the conduct of the investigation. The commission also noted that it may need to seek further information from identified suppliers.
History of non-compliance
One Nation has previously been found to have wrongly claimed public funding for electoral expenses. In 2021, the AEC subjected Hanson to an enforceable undertaking after finding she claimed about $165,000 in expenses that were not electoral expenditure or had not been incurred. The NSW Electoral Commission also denied funding claims in 2021, finding One Nation incorrectly claimed $118,000 for electoral material including merchandising.
Guardian Australia has reported concerns from former candidates that the party operates as a “money making scheme,” with candidates reporting spending just $872,116 for the 2025 election despite the $6m claim. Financial records lodged by the Queensland division show the party has not lodged financial reports since 2022, with missing and worthless assets exceeding $1m.
One Nation did not respond to questions about the AEC review. Hanson, as the party's registered agent, could face criminal penalties if she submitted an incomplete, false, or misleading claim.
