The first table below shows the causes of all 160 by-elections for the House of Representatives since 1901. The second table provides details for each by-election.
A by-election is held when a member of the House of Representatives resigns for any reason, or dies in office. A sitting member may also be disqualified and an election may be voided by the Court of Disputed Returns. Expulsion of a member can no longer occur.
Causes of House of Representatives By-Elections Since 1901 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAUSE | 1901-1960 | 1961-2023 | TOTAL 1901-2023 |
LAST 33 YEARS 1990-2023 |
||||
RESIGNATION | ||||||||
DEATH | ||||||||
VOIDED | ||||||||
DISQUALIFICATION | ||||||||
EXPULSION | ||||||||
TOTAL |
Death and Resignation
A total of 160 by-elections have been held since 1901. All but seven of these have been caused by death or resignation.
A total of 85 by-elections – 53.13% – have been caused by the resignation of the sitting member. However, whereas 22 resignations (27.5% of 80 by-elections) occurred in the first 60 years of Federation, since 1960 there have been 63 by-elections caused by resignation (79.74% of 80 by-elections).
A total of 68 by-elections – 43.03% – have been caused by the death of the sitting member. However, whereas 53 of 80 by-elections up to 1960 were caused by death – 66.25% – since then only 15 of 80 by-elections – 18.75% – have been caused by death.
Since 1990, resignations have caused an even higher proportion of by-elections. There have been 38 by-elections, 33 (86.84%) of which were caused by resignations. As the average age of MPs has fallen, resignation has become the most common cause of departure from parliament. No doubt, medical improvements have also contributed to this turnaround.
By-Elections Ordered by The Court of Disputed Returns
Six by-elections have been ordered by the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns.
Four by-elections were caused by the Court of Disputed Returns voiding a result. Two of these were in 1904, one in 1907 and one in 1920.
Two by-elections have resulted from the disqualification of an elected member under the terms of Section 44 of the Constitution. The first of these was in 1996 (Lindsay – Jackie Kelly) and the second was in 2017 (New England – Barnaby Joyce). Kelly was re-elected in the by-election and Joyce was returned on December 2, 2017.
Six other by-elections have been caused by dual citizenship issues but the members concerned chose to resign before they were disqualified by the High Court. In 2017, John Alexander (Bennelong) resigned and successfully recontested. In 2018, David Feeney (Batman) resigned but did not recontest. On May 10, 2018, Justine Keay (Braddon), Susan Lamb (Longman) and Joshua Wilson (Fremantle) resigned due to dual citizenship issues. Each successfully re-contested their seats at by-elections on July 28, 2018. Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo) resigned her seat on May 11, 2018, due to dual citizenship issues, and was also re-elected on July 28.
Some vacancies in the House have occurred but the proximity of general elections meant that by-elections were not held. The most recent example of this was the 1992 disqualification of Phil Cleary (Wills). Cleary was re-elected at the 1993 election.
Expulsion
One by-election, in 1920, was caused by the expulsion of a member of the House (Kalgoorlie – Hugh Mahon). This power of expulsion was removed by Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987.
By-Elections in the 46 Parliaments
The table below lists all by-elections since 1901 and indicates during which Parliament they occurred.
There were no by-elections in four parliaments – the 11th (1928-1929), the 18th (1946-1949), the 19th (1949-1951) and the 43rd (2010-2013). The five-year period from 1946 until 1951 is the longest period in which no by-elections took place.
The record for the most number of by-elections is held by the 20th Parliament (1951-1954). It recorded ten by-elections, nine of which were caused by death, including those of two former prime ministers.
The most number of by-elections in a single year was recorded in 2018, with seven in total, including a record five on the same day.
House of Representatives By-Elections Since 1901 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
First Parliament (1901-1903) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
1.
|
Darling Downs | William Henry Groom | Littleton Ernest Groom | |||||
2.
|
Tasmania (At Large) |
Frederick William Piesse | William Hartnoll | |||||
3.
|
East Sydney | George Houston Reid | George Houston Reid | |||||
Second Parliament (1903-1906) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
4.
|
Wilmot | (Sir) Edward Braddon | Donald Norman Cameron | |||||
5.
|
Melbourne | (Sir) Malcolm McEacharn | William Robert Maloney | |||||
6.
|
Riverina | Robert Blackwood | John Moore Chanter | |||||
Third Parliament (1906-1910) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
7.
|
Echuca | Albert Clayton Palmer | Albert Clayton Palmer | |||||
8.
|
Adelaide | Charles C. Kingston | Ernest Alfred Roberts | |||||
9.
|
Wakefield | Sir Frederick Holder | Richard Witty Foster | |||||
Fourth Parliament (1910-1913) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
10.
|
Kooyong | William Knox | (Sir) Robert Best | |||||
11.
|
Batman | Henry Elisha Beard | Frank Brennan | |||||
12.
|
North Sydney | George Edwards | (Sir) Granville Ryrie | |||||
13.
|
Boothby | Egerton Lee Batchelor | David John Gordon | |||||
14.
|
Werriwa | David Robert Hall | Benjamin Holland Bennett | |||||
Fifth Parliament (1913-1914) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
15.
|
Kalgoorlie | Charles Edward Frazer | Hugh Mahon (unopposed) | |||||
16.
|
Adelaide | Ernest Alfred Roberts | George Edwin Yates | |||||
Sixth Parliament (1914-1917) – 4 by-elections | ||||||||
17.
|
Bendigo | John Andrew Arthur | Alfred John Hampson | |||||
18.
|
Grampians | Edward Jolley | Charles Carty Salmon | |||||
19.
|
Dalley | Robert Howe | William George Mahony | |||||
20.
|
Wide Bay | Andrew Fisher | Ernest Bernard Corser | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Seventh Parliament (1917-1919) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
21.
|
Darwin | Charles Howroyd | William Guthrie Spence | |||||
22.
|
Grampians | Charles Carty Salmon | Edmund Jowett | |||||
23.
|
Flinders | (Sir) William Hill Irvine | Stanley Melbourne Bruce | |||||
24.
|
Swan | (Sir) John Forrest | Edwin Wilkie Corboy | |||||
25.
|
Corangamite | James Chester Manifold | William Gerrand Gibson | |||||
26.
|
Echuca | Albert Clayton Palmer | William Caldwell Hill | |||||
Eighth Parliament (1919-1922) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
27.
|
Ballarat | Edwin Kerby | David Charles McGrath | |||||
28.
|
Kalgoorlie | Hugh Mahon | George James Foley | |||||
29.
|
Maranoa | James Page | James Aitchison Hunter | |||||
30.
|
West Sydney | Thomas Joseph Ryan | William Henry Lambert | |||||
31.
|
Parramatta | (Sir) Joseph Cook | Herbert Edward Pratten | |||||
32.
|
Yarra | Frank Gwynne Tudor | James Henry Scullin | |||||
Ninth Parliament (1922-1925) – no by-elections | ||||||||
Tenth Parliament (1925-1928) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
33.
|
Eden-Monaro | (Sir) Austin Chapman | John Arthur Perkins | |||||
34.
|
Dalley | William George Mahony | Edward G. Theodore | |||||
35.
|
Warringah | (Sir) Granville Ryrie | Robert Archdale Parkhill | |||||
36.
|
Martin | Herbert Edward Pratten | Frederick Graham Pratten | |||||
37.
|
Wide Bay | Edward Bernard Corser | Bernard Henry Corser (unopposed) |
|||||
Eleventh Parliament (1928-1929) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
38.
|
Balaclava | William Alexander Watt | Thomas Walter White | |||||
Twelfth Parliament (1929-1931) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
39.
|
Franklin | William McWilliams | Charles William Frost | |||||
40.
|
Parkes | (Sir) Edward McTiernan | Charles William Marr | |||||
41.
|
East Sydney | John Edward West | Edward John Ward | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Thirteenth Parliament (1931-1934) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
42.
|
East Sydney | John Joseph Clasby (died before taking seat) |
Edward John Ward | |||||
43.
|
Flinders | Stanley Melbourne Bruce | James Valentine Fairbairn | |||||
Fourteenth Parliament (1934-1937) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
44.
|
Newcastle | David Watkins | David Oliver Watkins | |||||
45.
|
Fawkner | George Arnot Maxwell | Harold Edward Holt | |||||
46.
|
Kennedy | David Riordan | William James Riordan | |||||
47.
|
Darling Downs | (Sir) Littleton E. Groom | Arthur William Fadden | |||||
48.
|
Gwydir | Charles Lydiard Abbott | William James Scully | |||||
Fifteenth Parliament (1937-1940) – 4 by-elections | ||||||||
49.
|
Wakefield | Charles Allan Hawker | Sydney McHugh | |||||
50.
|
Griffith | Francis Matthew Baker | William Patrick Conelan | |||||
51.
|
Wilmot | Joseph Aloysius Lyons | Lancelot Thomas Spurr | |||||
52.
|
Corio | Richard Gardiner Casey | John Johnstone Dedman | |||||
Sixteenth Parliament (1940-1943) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
53.
|
Kalgoorlie | Albert Ernest Green | Herbert Victor Johnson | |||||
54.
|
Swan | Henry Gregory | Thomas William Marwick | |||||
55.
|
Boothby | John Lloyd Price | Archibald Grenfell Price | |||||
Seventeenth Parliament (1943-1946) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
56.
|
Fremantle | John Curtin | Kim Edward Beazley | |||||
57.
|
Wimmera | Alexander Wilson | (Sir) Winton Turnbull | |||||
58.
|
Henty | Arthur William Coles | Henry “Jo” Gullett | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Eighteenth Parliament (1946-1949) – no by-elections | ||||||||
Nineteenth Parliament (1949-1951) – no by-elections | ||||||||
Twentieth Parliament (1951-1954) – 10 by-elections | ||||||||
59.
|
Balaclava | Thomas Walter White | Percy Ernest Joske | |||||
60.
|
Macquarie | Joseph Benedict Chifley | Anthony Luchetti | |||||
61.
|
Lyne | Eldred James Eggins | Philip Ernest Lucock | |||||
62.
|
Flinders | Rupert Sumner Ryan | Keith Walter Ewert | |||||
63.
|
Werriwa | Hubert Peter Lazzarini | Edward Gough Whitlam | |||||
64.
|
Bradfield | William Morris Hughes | Henry Basil Turner | |||||
65.
|
Dalley | John Solomon Rosevear | Arthur Edward Greenup | |||||
66.
|
Corangamite | Allan McKenzie McDonald | Ewen Daniel MacKinnon | |||||
67.
|
Lang | Daniel Mulcahy | Francis Eugene Stewart | |||||
68.
|
Gwydir | Thomas John Treloar | Archibald Ian Allan | |||||
Twenty-First Parliament (1954-1955) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
69.
|
Cook | Thomas Sheehan | James Francis Cope | |||||
Twenty-Second Parliament (1955-1958) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
70.
|
Cunningham | William Davies | Victor Dennis Kearney | |||||
71.
|
Barker | Archie Galbraith Cameron | Alexander James Forbes | |||||
72.
|
Wentworth | (Sir) Eric John Harrison | Leslie Harry Ernest Bury | |||||
73.
|
Richmond | Hubert Lawrence Anthony | John Douglas Anthony | |||||
74.
|
Parramatta | Oliver Howard Beale | (Sir) Garfield Barwick | |||||
Twenty-Third Parliament (1958-1961) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
75.
|
Hunter | Herbert Vere Evatt | Albert William James | |||||
76.
|
La Trobe | Richard Gardiner Casey | John David Jess | |||||
77.
|
Balaclava | Percy Ernest Joske | Raymond Whittorn | |||||
78.
|
Bendigo | Percy James Clarey | Noel Lawrence Beaton | |||||
79.
|
Calare | John Brooke Howse | John Armstrong England | |||||
80.
|
Higinbotham | Thomas Frank Timson | Donald Leslie Chipp | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Twenty-Fourth Parliament (1961-1963) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
81.
|
Batman | Alan Charles Bird | Samuel James Benson | |||||
82.
|
Grey | Edgar Hughes Deg Russell | Jack Mortimer | |||||
83.
|
East Sydney | Edward John Ward | Leonard Thomas Devine | |||||
Twenty-Fifth Parliament (1963-1966) – 7 by-elections | ||||||||
84.
|
Denison | Athol Gordon Townley | Adrian Gibson | |||||
85.
|
Angas | Alexander Downer | Geoffrey O’Halloran Giles | |||||
86.
|
Parramatta | (Sir) Garfield Barwick | Nigel Hubert Bowen | |||||
87.
|
Robertson | Roger Levinge Dean | Crawford Bridges-Maxwell | |||||
88.
|
Riverina | Hugh Stevenson Roberton | Adam Armstrong | |||||
89.
|
Dawson | George William Shaw | Rex Alan Patterson | |||||
90.
|
Kooyong | (Sir) Robert Menzies | Andrew Sharp Peacock | |||||
Twenty-Sixth Parliament (1966-1969) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
91.
|
Corio | Hubert Opperman | Gordon Scholes | |||||
92.
|
Capricornia | George Henry Gray | Douglas Everingham | |||||
93.
|
Higgins | Harold Edward Holt | John Grey Gorton | |||||
94.
|
Curtin | (Sir) Paul Hasluck | Ransley Victor Garland | |||||
95.
|
Bendigo | Noel Lawrence Beaton | Andrew David Kennedy | |||||
96.
|
Gwydir | Archibald Ian Allan | Ralph J.D. Hunt | |||||
Twenty-Seventh Parliament (1969-1972) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
97.
|
Aust. Capital Territory |
James Reay Fraser | Keppel Earl Enderby | |||||
98.
|
Chisholm | (Sir) Wilfrid Kent Hughes | Anthony Allan Staley | |||||
99.
|
Murray | (Sir) John McEwen | Bruce Lloyd | |||||
Twenty-Eighth Parliament (1972-1974) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
100.
|
Parramatta | Nigel Hubert Bowen | Philip Maxwell Ruddock | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Twenty-Ninth Parliament (1974-1975) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
101.
|
Bass | Lance Herbert Barnard | Kevin Eugene Newman | |||||
Thirtieth Parliament (1975-1977) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
102.
|
Cunningham | Reginald F.X. Connor | Stewart John West | |||||
Thirty-First Parliament (1977-1980) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
103.
|
Werriwa | Edward Gough Whitlam | John Charles Kerin | |||||
104.
|
Grayndler | Francis Eugene Stewart | Leo Boyce McLeay | |||||
Thirty-Second Parliament (1980-1983) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
105.
|
Boothby | John Elden McLeay | Steele Hall | |||||
106.
|
Curtin | Ransley Victor Garland | Allan Charles Rocher | |||||
107.
|
McPherson | Eric Laidlaw Robinson | Peter Nicholson White | |||||
108.
|
Wentworth | Robert James Ellicott | William Peter Coleman | |||||
109.
|
Lowe | (Sir) William McMahon | Michael John Maher | |||||
110.
|
Flinders | (Sir) Phillip Reginald Lynch | Peter Keaston Reith (never sat) |
|||||
Thirty-Third Parliament (1983-1984) – 6 by-elections | ||||||||
111.
|
Wannon | John Malcolm Fraser | David Peter Hawker | |||||
112.
|
Bruce | (Sir) Billy Mackie Snedden | Kenneth James Aldred | |||||
113.
|
Moreton | (Sir) Denis James Killen | Donald Milner Cameron | |||||
114.
|
Corangamite | Anthony Austin Street | Fergus Stewart McArthur | |||||
115.
|
Hughes | Leslie Royston Johnson | Robert Edward Tickner | |||||
116.
|
Richmond | John Douglas Anthony | Charles William Blunt | |||||
Thirty-Fourth Parliament (1984-1987) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
117.
|
Scullin | Dr. Henry Alfred Jenkins | Henry Alfred Jenkins | |||||
Thirty-Fifth Parliament (1987-1990) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
118.
|
Adelaide | Christopher John Hurford | Michael Philip Pratt | |||||
119.
|
Port Adelaide | Michael Jerome Young | Rodney Weston Sawford | |||||
120.
|
Groom | Daniel Thomas McVeigh | William Leonard Taylor | |||||
121.
|
Oxley | William George Hayden | Leslie James Scott | |||||
122.
|
Gwydir | Ralph J.D. Hunt | John Duncan Anderson | |||||
No. | Division | State | Date | Previous Member | Party | Reason | Member Elected | Party |
Thirty-Sixth Parliament (1990-1993) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
123.
|
Menzies | Neil Anthony Brown | Kevin James Andrews | |||||
124.
|
Wills | Robert James Lee Hawke | Philip Ronald Cleary (disqualified 25.11.92) |
|||||
Thirty-Seventh Parliament (1993-1996) – 8 by-elections | ||||||||
125.
|
Werriwa | John Charles Kerin | Mark William Latham | |||||
126.
|
Fremantle | John Sydney Dawkins | Carmen Mary Lawrence | |||||
127.
|
Bonython | Dr Neil Blewett | Martyn John Evans | |||||
128.
|
Mackellar | James Joseph Carlton | Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop | |||||
129.
|
Warringah | Michael John Mackellar | Anthony John Abbott | |||||
130.
|
Kooyong | Andrew Sharp Peacock | Petro Georgiou | |||||
131.
|
Canberra | Roslyn Joan Kelly | Brendan Smyth | |||||
132.
|
Wentworth | John Robert Hewson | Andrew Peter Thomson | |||||
Thirty-Eighth Parliament (1996-1998) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
133.
|
Blaxland | Paul John Keating | Michael John Hatton | |||||
134.
|
Lindsay | Jackie Marie Kelly | Jackie Marie Kelly | |||||
135.
|
Fraser | John Langmore | Steven John Dargavel | |||||
Thirty-Ninth Parliament (1998-2001) – 4 by-elections | ||||||||
136.
|
Holt | Gareth Evans | Anthony Byrne | |||||
137.
|
Isaacs | Greg Wilton | Ann Corcoran | |||||
138.
|
Ryan | John Moore | Leonie Short | |||||
139.
|
Aston | Peter Nugent | Chris Pearce | |||||
Fortieth Parliament (2001-2004) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
140.
|
Cunningham | Stephen Martin | Michael Organ | |||||
Forty-First Parliament (2004-2007) – 1 by-election | ||||||||
141.
|
Werriwa | Mark Latham | Chris Hayes | |||||
Forty-Second Parliament (2007-2010) – 5 by-elections | ||||||||
142.
|
Gippsland | Peter McGauran | Darren Chester | |||||
143.
|
Lyne | Mark Vaile | Rob Oakeshott | |||||
144.
|
Mayo | Alexander Downer | Jamie Briggs | |||||
145.
|
Higgins | Peter Costello | Kelly O’Dwyer | |||||
146.
|
Bradfield | Brendan Nelson | Paul Fletcher | |||||
Forty-Third Parliament (2010-2013) – no by-elections | ||||||||
Forty-Fourth Parliament (2013-2016) – 3 by-elections | ||||||||
147.
|
Griffith | Kevin Rudd | Terri Butler | |||||
148.
|
Canning | Don Randall | Andrew Hastie | |||||
149.
|
North Sydney | Joe Hockey | Trent Zimmerman | |||||
Forty-Fifth Parliament (2016-2019) – 9 by-elections | ||||||||
150.
|
New England | Barnaby Joyce | Barnaby Joyce | |||||
151.
|
Bennelong | John Alexander | John Alexander | |||||
152.
|
Batman | David Feeney | Ged Kearney | |||||
153.
|
Perth | Tim Hammond | Patrick Gorman | |||||
154.
|
Braddon | Justine Keay | Justine Keay | |||||
155.
|
Fremantle | Joshua Wilson | Joshua Wilson | |||||
156.
|
Longman | Susan Lamb | Susan Lamb | |||||
157.
|
Mayo | Rebekha Sharkie | Rebekha Sharkie | |||||
158.
|
Wentworth | Malcolm Turnbull | Dr Kerryn Phelps | |||||
Forty-Sixth Parliament (2019-2022) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
159.
|
Eden-Monaro | Mike Kelly | Kristy McBain | |||||
160.
|
Groom | John McVeigh | Garth Hamilton | |||||
Forty-Seventh Parliament (2022-) – 2 by-elections | ||||||||
161.
|
Aston | Alan Tudge | Mary Doyle | |||||
162.
|
Fadden | Stuart Robert | – |