The Centre Party is generally seen as the political extension of the remnant of the New Guard, which had decreased in popularity and influence, and, under Campbell's leadership, had become increasingly inclined towards fascism.

With Eric Campbell, a solicitor and former officer in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), as "principal founder", the New Guard was established in February 1931, open to "all loyal citizens irrespective of creed, party, social or financial position".

[8] Campbell's new organisation sprang out of the Old Guard, a "secretive" group of Sydney-based businessmen formed to oppose Jack Lang, the Premier of New South Wales and the leader of the Labor Party, which had gained power at the October 1930 state election.

[14] In late 1932, Campbell had begun to outline more fully his political beliefs, producing a series of broadcasts in which he develop a "complete credo for a fascist State", most notably incorporating a "non-elective cabinet or commission, a corporative assembly, vocational franchise and a charter of liberty".

[18] The “majority of the diminishing movement” endorsed its move into electoral politics, which was, according to Campbell, “necessitated by the failure of the UAP governments, at both federal and state levels, to accede to the New Guard's demands”.

[20] At the May 1935 New South Wales state election, the Centre Party contested five out of the 90 Legislative Assembly districts, all in suburban Sydney, and polled 0.60 percent of the total vote.

[24][25][26] The party's relatively high vote in Hornsby and Lane Cove is thought to have represented "merely the level of protest against [UAP Premier] Stevens" in the absence of other candidates.

On 22 April 1935 a notice was published in the Sydney Morning Herald advising that Murphy had pointed out to the newspaper that "he has no association with any party, but is standing as an Independent candidate for the Concord electorate", despite having previously appeared "as a member of the Centre Movement".

[41] John McCarthy suggests Campbell's attempts to promote the party as centrist were a result of the "complete marginalisation of the far right" at the preceding 1932 state election.

[38] However, despite Campbell's appeal to the middle-class, Keith Amos notes the party was "almost completely disregarded by the popular press", with "public interest in right-wing militancy" evaporating.

Matthew Cunningham describes the functions of the New Guard and Centre Party as "twofold": to "augment constitutional government as a physical bulwark against communism", and to "act as a moral force championing the tenets of individualism that had been inherited from Britain".