National Party of Australia: Clarifying the Name and Founding Dates

There is a single federal National Party of Australia (formerly Australian Country Party → National Country Party → National Party).

Federal Party

• Founded: 1920 as Australian Country Party (first federal MPs elected 1919).
• Renamed: National Country Party (1975), National Party of Australia (1982), briefly "The Nationals" (2003–2006).
• Queensland Branch: Merged with Queensland Liberal Party in 2008 → Liberal National Party (LNP). LNP MPs sit in federal Liberal or National party rooms.
• WA Branch: Separate "National Party of Australia (WA)" — not in Coalition 2020–2025.

Key Figures

Page, McEwen, Anthony, Sinclair, Fischer, Anderson, Vaile, Truss, Joyce, McCormack, Littleproud (current leader).

Coalition Partner: Perpetual coalition with Liberal Party (since 1949, brief breaks) — "The Coalition."