[7] The party was heavily criticised for meeting with President Bashar al-Assad during a trip to Syria[8][9] and experienced internal dissent over its governance and electoral tactics and was deregistered due to low membership numbers in 2015.

[12] Assange said that Prime Minister Julia Gillard's attacks on WikiLeaks contributed to his decision to run for the Senate, and that if he won the seat the US would end the grand jury investigation against him and the British government would follow suit "the political costs of the current standoff will be higher still".

He also said it was important to protect people and small businesses from large corporations and government, and that there were "strong arguments on all sides" of issues like euthanasia and same-sex marriage.

[30][22] CEO John Shipton stated that the party "stands for what Julian espouses — transparency and accountability in government and of course human rights".

[34] The Constitution of the WikiLeaks Party lists objectives, including the protection of human rights and freedoms; transparency of governmental and corporate action, policy and information; recognition of the need for equality between generations; and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination.

[6] Christine Milne, leader of the Australian Greens, was positive about the emergence of the WikiLeaks Party as part of a move away from Australia's two-party system.

[50] Professor Anne Twomey, an expert on Australian constitutional law at the University of Sydney, suggested that if Assange were elected, this could be found invalid in the event of a legal challenge if a court ruled that his relationship with Ecuador breached the prohibition against the election of people "under any [acknowledgement] of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power".

The Sydney Morning Herald reported it was understood that WikiLeaks had "gone into a complex preference deal with micro parties, mainly right-wing, in a bid to get a candidate into the senate".

The WikiLeaks Party blamed an unspecified "administrative errors" and announced an independent review would be held, and Gerry Georgatos defended the decision to place the Nationals ahead of the Greens.

[53][54][55][56] Leslie Cannold, Assange's running mate in Victoria, said a campaign staffer received a phone call that contradicted the statement by the WikiLeaks Party that the review would be immediate and independent.

[59][60] According to leaked emails,[61][62] Assange was behind the preference deal, and attempted to give himself veto rights and to turn the National Council into a rubber stamp.

"[69] Greens staffer Max Phillips said The WikiLeaks Party's NSW deputy registered officer Cassie Findlay told him about the decision a week before it became public.

[77][78] In a statement issued shortly before the visit, the WikiLeaks Party stated that it opposed outside intervention in the war, supported a negotiated peace process and described reports of the Ghouta chemical attack by forces loyal to al-Assad in August 2013 as being "unsubstantiated" and comparable to the concerns over the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction program prior to the Iraq War.

[79][80] The meeting with President al-Assad was attended by National Council members John Shipton and Gail Malone[81][82][83] and by academic Tim Anderson.

[78][87][90] Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the meeting was an "extraordinary error of judgment" and Lowy Institute for International Policy executive director Michael Fullilove called it "extremely unwise, ill-considered and really unforgivable".

[78] Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said it was "excessively reckless" for the WikiLeaks Party "to try and insert itself in the appalling conflict in Syria for their own political ends".

Shipton said he was going to sue Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop for criticising the party's delegation to Syria for $5 million in damages but never sued.

[95] Shipton added he and other members of the WikiLeaks Party would return to Syria to deliver medical supplies bought in Iran to the Red Crescent in Damascus, but said they would not meet Assad again.

[95] After meeting with Syrian officials in December 2013, WikiLeaks Party national councillor Jamal Daoud said he would use information from the regime to publish stories of alleged atrocities by the rebels, despite not having seen any evidence to support some of the claims and not following up on it.

[99] One hour before the close of nominations, Georgatos withdrew for "unforeseen personal reasons" and Tibor Meszaros was consequently elevated to lead candidate.

[104][105] In March 2014, Jamal Daoud said that the WikiLeaks National Council was denied access to the party's books and copies of financial statements.