1946 Australian federal election

1946 Australian federal election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 75 seats of the House of Representatives; 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House ; 19 (of the 36) seats of the Senate
Registered	4,739,853 6.12%
Turnout	4,453,941 (93.97%); (2.35 pp)
	Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
Prime Minister before election; Ben Chifley; Labor	Subsequent Prime Minister ; Ben Chifley; Labor

The 1946 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley defeated the opposition Liberal–Country coalition, led by Robert Menzies. It was the Liberal Party's first federal election since its creation. This was the first time the Labor party had won a second consecutive election. This was also the last time the Labor party would win a federal election until the 1972 election.

The election was held in conjunction with three referendum questions, one of which was carried.

Results

House of Representatives

House of Reps (IRV) — 1946–49—Turnout 93.97% (CV) — Informal 2.45%
Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		2,159,953	49.71	−0.22	43	−6
	Liberal–Country coalition		1,896,349	43.65	+13.20	29	+6
		Liberal	1,431,682	32.95	+11.05	18	+4
		Country	464,667	10.70	+2.16	11	+2
	Labor (Non-Communist)		69,138	1.59	+0.87	1	+1
	Communist		64,811	1.49	+1.49	0	0
	Services		55,140	1.27	+1.27	0	0
	Protestant People's		20,111	0.46	+0.46	0	0
	Independents		79,040	1.82	−10.34	2^[b]	-1
	Total		4,344,542			75
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
	Labor		Win	54.10	−4.10	43	−6
	Liberal–Country coalition			45.90	+4.10	29	+6

Notes

Independent: Doris Blackburn (Bourke, Vic.)
In South Australia, the Liberal Party was known as the Liberal and Country League.

Popular vote

Labor			49.71%
Liberal			32.95%
Country			10.70%
Lang Labor			1.59%
Independent/Other			1.83%

Two-party-preferred vote

Labor			54.10%
Coalition			45.90%

Parliament seats

Labor			58.11%
Coalition			35.14%

Senate

Senate (P BV) — 1946–49—Turnout 93.97% (CV) — Informal 8.01%
		Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held	Change
Labor		2,133,272	52.06	−3.02	16	33	+11
Liberal–Country coalition		1,775,022	43.33	+5.18	3	3	–11
	Liberal–Country joint ticket	1,561,718	38.12	N/A	3	N/A	N/A
	Liberal	213,304	5.21	N/A	0	2	–10
	Country	N/A	N/A	N/A	0	1	–1
Protestant People's		123,541	3.02	+3.02	0	0	0
Services		37,724	0.92	+0.92	0	0	0
Independents		27,767	0.68	–3.83	0	0	0
Total		4,097,326			19	36

Notes

Of the three senators elected on Liberal–Country joint tickets, two were Liberal Party members and one was a Country Party member.

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1946				Swing	Post-1946
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Bourke, Vic		Labor	Bill Bryson	3.6	4.7	1.1	Doris Blackburn	Independent
Calare, NSW		Labor	John Breen	9.9	11.7	1.8	John Howse	Liberal
Capricornia, Qld		Labor	Frank Forde	5.9	8.8	2.9	Charles Davidson	Country
Franklin, Tas		Labor	Charles Frost	9.9	10.0	0.1	Bill Falkinder	Liberal
Henty, Vic		Independent	Arthur Coles	5.5	9.8	4.3	Jo Gullett	Liberal
Reid, NSW		Labor	Charles Morgan	N/A	7.4	4.2	Jack Lang	Lang Labor
Swan, WA		Labor	Don Mountjoy	3.0	3.2	0.2	Len Hamilton	Country
Wakefield, SA		Labor	Albert Smith	1.2	3.9	2.7	Philip McBride	Liberal
Wilmot, Tas		Liberal	Allan Guy	1.7	3.4	1.7	Gil Duthie	Labor

Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Notes

^ The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.
^ Including Northern Territory

References

University of WA Archived 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine election results in Australia since 1890
Two-party-preferred vote since 1937

[1] The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.

[2] Including Northern Territory

[a]

[b]

v t e Federal elections and referendums in Australia
Federal elections	1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1964 1966 1967 1969 1970 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025
Constitutional Convention	1997
Referendums	1906 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1926 1928 1937 1944 1946 1948 1951 1967 1973 1974 1977 1984 1988 1999 2017 2023
See also: By-elections