Pauline Hanson's One Nation party faces being struck off in Queensland due to its failure to meet legal obligations to lodge audited financial statements with the state's regulator. The breach exposes Hanson, registered as president, and New South Wales One Nation senator Sean Bell, registered as secretary, to potential financial penalties.
The party has not lodged three years of audited financial reports. While overdue annual returns for 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025 were filed with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on 3 July, these submissions did not include the necessary audited financial statements, according to a spokesperson for the regulator.
The OFT has given One Nation until 18 August 2026 to lodge the outstanding financial statements. Failure to meet this deadline could lead to an investigation by the regulator, potentially resulting in enforcement action such as an infringement notice or a "show cause" notice, which is a preliminary step before an association's incorporation is cancelled.
Members of an incorporated association's management committee are required under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 to ensure financial statements are lodged for the last reportable financial year, or they may face financial penalties. Hanson and Bell currently hold the positions of president and secretary, respectively, according to the party's latest update to the regulator.