Progressive leader Jim Anderton has criticised the Electoral Commission for referring a complaint that he breached the Electoral Finance Act (EFA) to the police.

Mr Anderton said today that the police had written to him advising that there had been no breach of the EFA.

The commission believed that an advertisement placed about a change in the law to ban some party pills and the circulation of Mr Anderton's email newsletter may have breached the EFA.

Mr Anderton said the complaint was frivolous and a waste of police time.

He accused the commission of taking a cavalier attitude.

"The decision to refer these complaints just before the election, when even the most cursory examination should have shown no offence had been committed, showed poor judgement," Mr Anderton said.

"The commission allowed itself to become part of the political contrast. A conga line of critics of the Act were lining up to say it served me right for voting for the EFA, but there no offence had been committed."

Mr Anderton said the EFA could improved, but he believed in the ban on anonymous political ads and caps on election spending.

Mr Anderton held on to his electorate seat at the last election, but picked up less than 1 percent of the party vote so no other MPs from his party came to Parliament.

National is planning to repeal the EFA.