Markets 
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is at risk of losing its legal status in its home state of Queensland after the state’s regulator revealed the party had failed to lodge audited financial statements over a three-year period.
Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading said on Wednesday the party’s state division had lodged overdue annual returns with the regulator, but crucially this did not include audited financial statements as required by law.
Failure to provide the statements in less than three weeks will trigger an investigation from the regulator, which could lead to a small fine for division president Hanson, NSW Senator Sean Bell as the secretary or party treasurer Alex Jones.
It could also trigger a show cause notice being issued, which would require the Queensland division to argue why its registration should not be cancelled.
Such a move in its home state would be a significant blow to the rising political force, given the populist party has become the most dominant federal party in Queensland, according to some polls. Its headquarters is also based in Queensland.
“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 spokesman from the regulator said in a statement to this masthead.
“The Office of Fair Trading has given the association until 18 August 2026 to lodge the outstanding financial statements.”
One Nation has been contacted for a response to the Office of Fair Trading’s demand.
The party has faced widespread scrutiny over its finances and donations this year following an extraordinary rise in the polls and after Hanson claimed she has the potential to be prime minister.
On Tuesday, Hanson updated her parliamentary register of interests to disclose mining billionaire Gina Rinehart had paid for flights to London, Rome and Sicily during her well-publicised trip to Europe.
The Senator also declared Rinehart had paid for her accommodation, meals and daily expenses.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.From our partners
Read the full article here
