The House of Representatives

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See all 151 seats in alphabetical order

See all 151 seats in pendulum order

At the election of 2 July 2016, the House of Representatives had 150 members. At that election the Liberal-National Coalition government led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull won 76 seats, a loss of 14 seats. The opposition Australian Labor Party led by Bill Shorten won 69 seats, a gain of 14. The Australian Greens, Katter's Australian Party and the Nick Xenophon Team each won one seat, and two independent members were elected. Thus, after providing a Speaker, the Coalition government was left with 75 seats, exactly half the membership of the House, while the combined non-government members totalled 74 members.

In September 2018 the Liberal Party elected Scott Morrison as its new leader and thus as Prime Minister. Former Prime Minister Turnbull immediately resigned from Parliament, triggering a by-election in his seat of Wentworth. The by-election on 20 October was won by an independent candidate, Dr Kerryn Phelps. In November, the Liberal MP Julia Banks (Chisholm, Vic) resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent - she will not recontest the seat. These losses left the Coalition with 73 members after the provision of a Speaker.

In 2017 and 2018 there were redistributions in all states and territories except NSW and Western Australia. As a result, one Labor seat in South Australia (Port Adelaide) was abolished, and two new Labor seats were created in Victoria (Fraser) and the ACT (Bean). In addition, the Victorian Liberal seat of Dunkley was changed into a notionally Labor seat.

At the 2019 election, therefore, the House of Representatives will have 151 members. The Coalition will go into the election with a notional total of 74 seats (including Chisholm and the Speaker's seat), while Labor will have a notional 71 seats. There will be six seats held by cross-bench members. Labor will thus need to gain five seats to have a majority. The Coalition will need to gain two seats to have a majority. The independent Cathy McGowan will retire, giving the Liberals an opportunity to regain her seat (Indi, Vic).

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State and territory maps, showing new boundaries

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Changes in enrolments and seats (at close of rolls)

Go to the Guide to the Senate election

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