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Next Australian federal election

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Next Australian federal election
← 2022 On or before 17 May 2025
All 150 seats in the House of Representatives
76 seats are needed for a majority
40 (of the 76) seats in the Senate
Opinion polls
 
Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped).jpg
Peter Dutton May 2018.jpg
Adam-Bandt-profile-2021 (Cropped).png
Leader Anthony Albanese Peter Dutton Adam Bandt
Party Labor Coalition Greens
Leader since 30 May 2019 (2019-05-30) 30 May 2022 (2022-05-30) 4 February 2020 (2020-02-04)
Leader's seat Grayndler (NSW) Dickson (Qld) Melbourne (Vic)
Last election 77 seats 58 seats 4 seats
Current seats 78[a] 55[b] 4
Seats needed Steady Increase 21 Increase 72
Results by division for the House of Representatives.
Incumbent Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese
Labor



The next Australian federal election will be held on or before 17 May 2025 to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All 151 seats in the House of Representatives and likely 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate will be contested. It is expected that at this election, the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be seeking re-election to a second term in office, opposed by the Liberal/National Coalition under Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton.

Background

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Previous election

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Main article: 2022 Australian federal election
See also: Results of the 2022 Australian federal election (House of Representatives) and Results of the 2022 Australian federal election (Senate)

At the previous election in May 2022, the Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese, formed government after nine years in opposition, winning 77 seats in the House of Representatives, enough for a two-seat majority. The Liberal–National Coalition that had previously governed won only 58 seats and went into opposition. Meanwhile, the crossbench, made up of other parties and independents, expanded to 16 seats; four held by the Greens, one each by Centre Alliance and Katter's Australian Party and the remaining 10 by independents.[1]

In the Senate, Labor made no gains and remained steady at 26 seats overall, whilst the Coalition lost some seats and retained only 32 seats. The Greens made gains and increased their share of seats to 12. One Nation also remained steady at 2 seats, Centre Alliance and Rex Patrick Team each lost their sole Senate seat, while the Jacqui Lambie Network gained a second seat. David Pocock was also elected as an independent Senator, while the United Australia Party also gained a Senate seat. This meant Labor required 13 additional votes to pass legislation.[2]

Composition of parliament

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See also: 47th Parliament of Australia § Changes in membership

The 47th Parliament opened on 26 July 2022. The Liberal Party entered the parliament with a new leader, with former defence and home affairs minister Peter Dutton replacing the outgoing prime minister Scott Morrison.[3]

On 23 December 2022, Nationals MP for Calare Andrew Gee left the party and became an Independent, following the party's decision to publicly oppose an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This meant that the Crossbench increased to 17 seats with the Coalition decreasing to 57 seats.[4]

On 16 January 2023, Liberal Senator Jim Molan died, he was replaced by Maria Kovacic in May that year.

On 6 February 2023, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe resigned from the party to sit as an Independent.

On 1 April 2023, Labor's Mary Doyle won the 2023 Aston by-election following the resignation of sitting Liberal MP Alan Tudge. The result was considered a massive upset and marked the first time that an incumbent government won a seat from the Opposition since the 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election.[5] As a result, Labor increased their number of seats in the House of Representatives to 78, while the Coalition decreased to 56.

In May 2023, incumbent Liberal National MP Stuart Robert resigned, triggering another by-election, this time in the seat of Fadden on the Gold Coast. The seat was won by Liberal National candidate Cameron Caldwell, keeping the composition of the parliament unchanged. Also in May 2023, Dai Le, the independent member for the seat of Fowler in Western Sydney, formed her own political party, the Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network, alongside Frank Carbone, the Mayor of Fairfield. The party will be primarily based in Western Sydney.[6]

On 15 June 2023, Liberal senator David Van was expelled from the party following sexual misconduct allegations by former LNP Senator Amanda Stoker and Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, continuing his term as an Independent. On 14 November 2023, following a party preselection defeat, Liberal MP Russell Broadbent left the party to sit on the crossbench.[7] November also saw Dave Sharma return to parliament this time as a Liberal Senator, after the resignation of party veteran Marise Payne.[8][9]

On 4 December 2023, Labor MP Peta Murphy died of cancer, reducing Labor to 77 seats, though the party's share was restored to 78 seats on 2 March 2024, when candidate Jodie Belyea retained the seat of Dunkley at the by-election. Similarly the Liberal Party fell by one seat on 28 February 2024, when former prime minister and MP Scott Morrison resigned from the seat of Cook, though Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy retained the seat for the party at the April 2024 by-election.

Labor Senator Pat Dodson resigned from the Senate in January 2024 while undergoing cancer treatment; his vacancy was filled by Varun Ghosh. Senator Linda White of Labor died in March 2024 and was replaced by Lisa Darmanin, while Greens senator Janet Rice resigned the following month and was replaced by Steph Hodgins-May. Party-compositional changes occurred when Senator Tammy Tyrrell quit the Jacqui Lambie Network to sit as an independent on 28 March 2024, and Labor senator Fatima Payman left the party and joined the crossbench as an independent in July 2024, citing disagreement with the party's position concerning the Israel-Gaza conflict. Three months later Payman established Australia's Voice party, stating she intended the party to field candidates in both houses of parliament at this election. The Senate composition changed once again on 25 August 2024 when Liberal National Senator Gerard Rennick resigned from the party and moved to the crossbench to sit as an independent following a preselection defeat. Like Payman, he too announced his intention to establish a political party, named the People First Party, in order to have his name featured above the line on the election ballot paper.[10]

Electoral system

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Members of the House of Representatives are elected by instant-runoff voting, which in Australia is known as full preferential voting. Each electorate elects one member.

Senators are elected by single transferable vote and proportional representation. In states senators are elected from state-wide twelve-member districts (although in most cases only six seats are contested at a single election), and in territories from territory-wide two-member districts.

Ballots are counted at least twice, at the polling place and, starting Monday night after election day, at counting centres.[11][12]

Current standings

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Parties are listed according to their vote share at the last federal election

Affiliation House Senate
Results of the
2022 election		 As of
9 October 2024 		Change Results of the
2022 election		 As of
9 October 2024 		Change
Labor 77 78 Increase 1 26 25 Decrease 1
Coalition 58 55 Decrease 3 32 30 Decrease 2
The Greens 4 4 Steady 0 12 11 Decrease 1
One Nation 0 0 Steady 0 2 2 Steady 0
United Australia 0 0 Steady 0 1 1 Steady 0
Katter's Australian 1 1 Steady 0 0 0 Steady 0
Centre Alliance 1 1 Steady 0 0 0 Steady 0
Lambie Network 0 0 Steady 0 2 1 Decrease 1
Australia's Voice[c] - 0 Steady 0 - 1 Increase 1
Independents[d] 10 12 Increase 2 1 5 Increase 4
Total seats 151 76

State of electorates

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Redistribution

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See also: Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives and Redistribution (Australia)

The Australian Electoral Commission is required, one year after the first sitting day for a new House of Representatives, to determine the number of members to which each State and Territory is entitled. If the number in any state changes, a redistribution will be required in those states. A redistribution will be postponed if it would begin within one year of the expiration of the House of Representatives.

The apportionment determination was made in July 2023 based on the population figures for December 2022. The determination resulted in a reduction of one seat in New South Wales to 46, a reduction of one seat in Victoria to 38 and an increase of one seat in Western Australia to 16. The total number of seats in the House of Representatives will decrease from 151 to 150 at the next federal election.[13]

In May and June 2024, the Australian Electoral Commission released its draft proposals for electorate changes, recommending the creation of the Division of Bullwinkel (Western Australia) in the outer eastern suburbs of Perth, and the abolition of the Division of Higgins (Victoria) in Melbourne's inner south-east (held by Labor's Michelle Ananda-Rajah) and the Division of North Sydney (New South Wales) in Sydney's inner north-east (held by teal independent Kylea Tink).[14] In addition, the commission proposed altering the boundaries of several seats in all three states. The Western Australia and Victoria-based changes were confirmed by the commission on 5 September 2024,[15][16] with the new boundaries gazetted on 24 September[17] and 17 October[18] respectively. The New South Wales changes were confirmed on 12 September[19] and were gazetted on 10 October 2024.[20]

Voter registration

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Enrolment of eligible voters is compulsory. Voters must notify the AEC within 8 weeks of a change of address or after turning 18. The electoral rolls are closed for new enrolments or update of details about a week after the issue of writs for election.[21] Enrolment is optional for 16 or 17-year-olds, but they cannot vote until they turn 18,[22] and persons who have applied for Australian citizenship may also apply for provisional enrolment which takes effect on the granting of citizenship.[23]

Election date

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See also: Electoral system of Australia § Election day
Election type Earliest date Latest date
Double dissolution
(requires trigger) 		29 March 2025

Simultaneous half-Senate and House of Representatives

28 December 2024 24 May 2025
Half-Senate
House of Representatives 27 September 2025

The election of senators must take place within one year before the terms expire for half-Senate elections,[24] so that the writs for a half-Senate election cannot be issued earlier than 1 July 2024. Since campaigns are for a minimum of 33 days, as of 19 November 2024, the earliest possible date for a simultaneous House/half-Senate election is Saturday, 28 December 2024.[25] The latest that a half-Senate election could be held must allow time for the votes to be counted and the writs to be returned before the newly elected senators take office on 1 July 2025. The previous election's writs were returned on 24 June 2022, 34 days after the 2022 federal election.[26] Using this time frame, the last possible date for a half-Senate election to take place is Saturday 24 May 2025.

A double dissolution (a deadlock-breaking provision to dissolve both houses of parliament) cannot be called within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives.[27] That means that any double dissolution of the 47th Parliament would have had to be granted by 25 January 2025. Allowing for the same stages indicated above, the last possible date for a double dissolution election would be 29 March 2025.[25] This can only occur if a bill that passes the House of Representatives is rejected by the Senate twice, at least three months apart.

The constitutional and legal provisions which impact on the choice of election dates include:[28][29]

  • Section 12 of the Constitution says: "The Governor of any State may cause writs to be issued for the election of Senators for that State."[30]
  • Section 13 of the Constitution provides that the election of senators shall be held in the period of twelve months before the places become vacant.[24]
  • Section 28 of the Constitution says: "Every House of Representatives shall continue for three years from the first sitting of the House, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General."[31] Since the 47th Parliament of Australia opened on 26 July 2022, it will expire on 25 July 2025.
  • Section 32 of the Constitution says: "The writs shall be issued within ten days from the expiry of a House of Representatives or from the proclamation of a dissolution thereof."[32] Ten days after 25 July 2025 is 4 August 2025.
  • Section 156(1) of the CEA says: "The date fixed for the nomination of the candidates shall not be less than 10 days nor more than 27 days after the date of the writ."[33] Twenty-seven days after 4 August 2025 is 31 August 2025.
  • Section 157 of the CEA says: "The date fixed for the polling shall not be less than 23 days nor more than 31 days after the date of nomination."[34] Thirty-one days after 31 August 2025 is 1 October 2025, a Wednesday.
  • Section 158 of the CEA says: "The day fixed for the polling shall be a Saturday."[35] The Saturday before 1 October 2025 is 27 September 2025, which is the latest possible date for the lower house election.

On 5 September 2024, during former leader of the Labor Party and current Minister for National Disability Insurance Scheme and Government Services Bill Shorten's announcement of his impending resignation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested that he may schedule the election to be held at a date later than Shorten's departure from Parliament in February 2025, while noting that the election is due by May 2025. In November 2024, while announcing candidates for the election, Albanese told reporters that it would be held in April or earlier.[36][37]

Candidates

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Main article: Candidates of the next Australian federal election

Retiring members

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Labor

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Liberal

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Nationals

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Opinion polling

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Main article: Opinion polling for the next Australian federal election

Primary vote

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Local regression graph of polls conducted since the 2022 election

Two-party preferred

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Local regression graph of polls conducted since the 2022 election

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Labor gained the seat of Aston from the Liberals at a by-election in 2023.
  2. ^ In 2022, Andrew Gee (MP for Calare) left the National Party. In 2023, the Liberal Party lost the seat of Aston to Labor at a by-election. In November 2023, Russell Broadbent (MP for Monash) left the Liberal Party following his preselection loss.
  3. ^ Fatima Payman was elected as a Labor Senator, but left the party in 2024; in October 2024 she established Australia's Voice.
  4. ^ Includes David Pocock, who was elected on an Independent Senate Platform for the ACT, however for ballot purposes, he registered an eponymous party for which he was one of 2 candidates.

References

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  1. ^ "Australian Federal Election 2022 Live Results". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Senate Results". ABC News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  3. ^ Hitch, Georgia (30 May 2022). "Peter Dutton elected new Liberal Party leader, Sussan Ley becomes deputy leader". ABC News. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. ^ Paul Karp (23 December 2022). "Nationals MP Andrew Gee quits party citing its opposition to Indigenous voice". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Labor snatches historic victory in Aston by-election in Melbourne's outer east". ABC News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Independent MP Dai le looks to spin success in western Sydney into new political movement | Sydney | the Guardian". Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Outspoken backbencher Russell Broadbent quits Liberal Party after preselection loss". ABC News. 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  8. ^ "'A grand contribution': Former minister and Liberal stalwart Marise Payne to quit politics". ABC News. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  9. ^ Remeikis, Amy (26 November 2023). "Moderate Dave Sharma wins NSW Liberal Senate spot after beating both Peter Dutton-endorsed candidates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Gerard Rennick quits LNP and reveals plan to register 'People First' party". The Guardian. 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ "House of Representatives count". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  12. ^ "The Senate counting process". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  13. ^ "House of Representatives to return to 150 members". Australian Electoral Commission. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  14. ^ Adrian Beaumont (19 June 2024). "The AEC has redrawn the boundaries for federal seats. How will this affect the next election?". The Conversation.
  15. ^ "Names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Western Australia decided". Australian Electoral Commission. 5 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Victoria decided". Australian Electoral Commission. 5 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Determination of names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Western Australia". legislation.gov.au. 24 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Determination of names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Victoria". legislation.gov.au. 17 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in New South Wales decided". Australian Electoral Commission. 12 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Determination of names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in New South Wales". legislation.gov.au. 10 October 2024.
  21. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 155
  22. ^ "Enrol to vote". Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  23. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 99A
  24. ^ a b Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 13
  25. ^ a b Lundie, Rob; Schatz, Laura; Muller, Damon (13 January 2020). "'So when is the next election?': Australian elections timetable as at January 2020". Parliamentary Library of Australia, Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  26. ^ "AEC returns writs for 2022 federal election" (Press release). Australian Electoral Commission. 24 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  27. ^ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 57
  28. ^ Lundie, Rob (25 June 2009). "Australian elections timetable". Parliamentary Library of Australia, Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011.
  29. ^ Riga, Jessica (10 April 2022). "Federal election: Scott Morrison says 'this election is about you', Anthony Albanese says he wants to 'restore faith' in politics". ABC News. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces May 21 election. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  30. ^ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 12
  31. ^ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 28
  32. ^ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 32
  33. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 156
  34. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 157
  35. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 158
  36. ^ Wind, Emily (5 September 2024). "Australia news live: Christie Whelan Browne settles sex discrimination suit over Rocky Horror show; AEC abolishes seat of Higgins". The Guardian. Albanese says there may be a gap between Shorten retiring and new member being elected. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  37. ^ "Early election speculation hits a fever pitch as Albanese announces Tasmania candidates, deflects WA clash". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  38. ^ a b Evans, Jake (25 July 2024). "Linda Burney, Brendan O'Connor to retire from politics as Albanese reshuffles ministry". ABC News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024. Frontbenchers Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor won't contest the next election.
  39. ^ "'Saddened' Brian Mitchell to step down as Labor MP for Lyons after three terms". Pulse Tasmania. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  40. ^ Remeikis, Amy (22 August 2024). "Labor left warrior Graham Perrett to retire after almost 20 years in federal parliament". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  41. ^ Remeikis, Amy (5 September 2024). "Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten to quit politics and become vice-chancellor of Canberra University". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  42. ^ Sakkal, Paul (9 June 2024). "Labor to pick first Palestinian Australian to replace veteran MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  43. ^ "WA Labor Senator Louise Pratt announces she will step down at next election". ABC News. msn.com. 20 February 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  44. ^ McHugh, Finn (18 April 2023). "Karen Andrews the latest frontbench resignation as Peter Dutton announces reshuffle". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  45. ^ Massola, James (8 April 2023). "Speculation grows over Morrison future in Cook as Liberal senate battles loom". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  46. ^ Marino, Nola (4 December 2023). "Nola Marino retirement announcement". Instagram. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  47. ^ Ford, Sean (11 June 2024). "Braddon MHR Gavin Pearce quitting politics, won't run in next election". The Advocate (Tasmania). Australian Community Media. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  48. ^ Bermingham, Kathryn (25 March 2024). "'Time to tackle the next chapter': Another veteran MP to quit". The Advertiser (Adelaide). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  49. ^ "Liberal senator Linda Reynolds to retire from politics". SBS News. 12 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  50. ^ "Long-serving MP announces he will retire". 25 March 2024. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  51. ^ "Statement by the Hon Dr David Gillespie". The Nationals NSW. 19 October 2024. Archived from the original on 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
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