The party ceased to operate and was deregistered in June 2005 following Senator Lees's defeat at the 2004 election and the expiry of her term.

Meg Lees resigned from the Democrats in July 2002 after being deposed as the party's leader in April 2001.

Lees sought to position the APA as a party of the moderate centre, arguing that the Democrats, under the leadership of Cheryl Kernot, Natasha Stott Despoja and Andrew Bartlett, had moved too far to the left.

In a 2003 opinion article, she claimed the party would appeal to "voters who cannot be dragged to the extremes by the Greens in any enduring way.

Lees achieved 11,061 votes (1.14%) in her state, losing her seat, while the others brought the national total to 18,856 (0.16%).