National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nats, is an agrarian, conservative, and right-wing political party in Australia. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it was founded as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level. In 1975, it adopted the name National Country Party, before taking its current name in 1982.

The National Party is the junior partner in a conservative electoral alliance known in Australian politics as the Liberal–National Coalition, accompanied by the predominantly urban-based Liberal Party of Australia. When in government, the leader of the National Party has traditionally served as the deputy prime minister. The current leader of the party is Matt Canavan, who assumed office on 11 March 2026.

Due to the closeness and integration of the two parties, as well as the declining vote of the Nationals in recent years, it has been proposed several times that the Liberals and the Nationals formally merge. In Queensland, the Country Party (later National Party) was the senior coalition party between 1925 and 2008, after which it merged with the junior Liberal Party to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland.

The Coalition has been dissolved on various occasions following electoral defeats or policy disputes between the parties, however, it has typically re-formed each upcoming federal election in these instances. The coalition arrangement varies in each state and territory.