Businessman Clive Palmer says he's confident his United Australia Party candidates are eligible for federal parliament because a "legal officer" filled in their paperwork.
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More than a dozen UAP candidates have submitted forms ticking a box declaring they had parents or grandparents who were born overseas, but failed to state where or provide evidence of having renounced dual citizenship.
Dual citizenship and other issues under section 44 of the constitution claimed the scalps of 17 members and senators in the previous parliament.
New rules were put in place for this election, making it mandatory for all candidates to declare their eligibility and have their forms published by the Australian Electoral Commission.
A number of candidates have taken steps including quitting public service jobs and ensuring they have citizenship renunciations in writing from foreign government agencies.
Asked about the failure to lodge supporting documents, Mr Palmer told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday: "They're not required to.
"We have a legal officer that filled in the form.
"There were things that were optional and things that were required to be accepted by the AEC and we just filled in what we were required to do, that's all."
Quizzed about whether any of them were dual citizens, he said: "They're not dual citizens."
Australian Associated Press
