In Australian politics, the term Branch stacking is used to describe the act of recruiting members for a local branch of a political party for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of internal preselections of candidates for public office. It has become controversial in Australia after several inquiries or contests which received mainstream attention, and most political parties now have clauses in their constitutions which allow "head office" intervention to resolve alleged stacking, with penalties for those who engage in it. Branch stacking itself is legal under Australian law, but some activities like providing false information to the Australian Electoral Commission can be prosecuted as fraud.
The Hawke-Wran review of the Australian Labor Party in 2002 claimed branch stacking, largely driven by factions seeking to expand their influence, had a "cancerous" effect on the party and a "deadening" effect on branch activity, as many of the recruited members have no commitment to the party. Commentators and authors within or formerly within the Liberal Party of Australia have claimed similar activity in their branches has had a similar effect.
Read more about Branch Stacking: Activities Commonly Described As Branch Stacking, Notable Instances of Branch Stacking
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