Next Australian federal election

The 2025 Australian federal election, held on 3 May, resulted in a historic landslide victory for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Labor secured 94 seats in the House of Representatives, growing their parliamentary majority and achieving the largest number of seats won by the party at the federal level in its history. The result exceeded almost all published opinion polling, which had predicted either a smaller majority for the Labor government or a hung parliament. It was the fourth time in history that a party or coalition secured 90 or more seats in a federal election—the last instance being in 2013. It also marked the first time a single party, and specifically the Labor Party, achieved this feat and this was also the equal largest number of seats won by a party or coalition in Australian electoral history exceeding the 1975 election result and equalling the 1996 result.^[1]

The Coalition suffered significant losses, including the seat of Dickson, held by then-Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who was unseated by Labor's Ali France.^[2][3]

A particularly notable outcome was the dramatic decline of the Australian Greens in the lower house. The party lost three of its four seats, including the long-held seat of Melbourne, where Greens leader Adam Bandt was defeated by Labor's Sarah Witty, ending his 15-year tenure in Parliament. The Greens' only remaining seat in the House of Representatives was Ryan in Queensland, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown. Some prominent commentary attributed the Greens' losses to their policy positions, particularly regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict, and a perceived shift away from core environmental issues, leading to voter alienation in key electorates.^[4][5][6] Other commentary instead explained the dramatic fall in seat count as primarily due to the way small shifts in vote counts can lead to large shifts in margins and seat counts under Australia's preferential voting system, also a factor in the Greens' sudden jump from 1 to 4 seats in 2022.^[7][8]

Another significant development in the 2025 election was the re-emergence of Clive Palmer with a new political party, the Trumpet of Patriots. After the High Court blocked the re-registration of his previous party, the United Australia Party, Palmer joined the Trumpet of Patriots in February 2025, which was modelled after Trumpism. The party's campaign featured slogans like "Make Australia Great Again" and policies opposing immigration and gender diversity initiatives. Despite spending approximately $60 million on a nationwide advertising blitz, including over $6 million on YouTube and Meta platforms, and sending over 17 million unsolicited text messages, the party failed to secure any seats in Parliament, garnering only 1.85% of the national vote. Following this defeat, Palmer announced his retirement from politics.^[9]

Nationals senator Matt Canavan challenged incumbent leader David Littleproud in a leadership spill.^[10] Littleproud was re-elected as party leader on 12 May.^[11]

On 13 May 2025, the Liberals elected their new leader in a leadership election. Following the federal election but prior to the leadership election, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price defected from the Nationals party room to the Liberal party room to stand in the election for the position of Deputy Leader. Sussan Ley was subsequently elected leader, narrowly defeating Angus Taylor, with Ted O'Brien being elected as her deputy.^[12] Ley is the first woman elected to lead the Liberals, the Coalition, or serve as the Leader of the Opposition at the federal level in Australia.^[13] At 63, Ley is also the oldest first-time Leader of the Opposition since Arthur Calwell in 1960.^[14]

The Greens held a leadership election on 15 May 2025 and elected Queensland senator Larissa Waters as their leader.^[15]

On 20 May 2025, Littleproud announced the breakup of the Coalition, citing irreconcilable policy disagreements around nuclear energy amongst other topics.^[16]

On 28 May 2025, Sussan Ley and David Littleproud announced that a new deal had been reached to reunify the Liberal–National Coalition after the Liberal Party agreed on an 'in principle' basis to support the four policy demands from the Nationals Party – removing the moratorium on nuclear energy, supermarket divestiture powers, regional phone coverage, and a regional future fund.^[17] The Coalition's shadow cabinet, consisting of 14 Liberals and 6 Nationals, was announced later that afternoon.^[18]

On 2 June 2025, Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox announced that she had defected from the Greens to the ALP. This brought Labor up to 29 senators, allowing them to pass legislation with either the Coalition or the Greens.^[19] Alternatively, Labor can pass legislation through the Senate with the support of all ten of the other crossbench senators; the four One Nation senators, Ralph Babet, Jacqui Lambie, Fatima Payman, David Pocock, Lidia Thorpe, and Tammy Tyrrell, but this is considered unlikely due to their highly divergent political views.

The parliament was opened by Governor General Sam Mostyn on 22 July 2025.^[20]

• 23 July, 2025: Senator Mehreen Faruqi is sanctioned by the Senate for holding up a sign during Mostyn's address; reading "Gaza is starving/Words won't feed them/Sanction Israel".^[20]
• 24 July, 2025: Senators for Pauline Hanson's One Nation turn their backs during the Senate Welcome to Country, prompting criticism from the government and the Greens.^[21]
• 29 July, 2025: Education minister Jason Clare announces legislation to increase standards at childcare centres in the wake of sexual abuse scandals.^[22]
• 31 July, 2025: Government legislation to cut HECS/HELP debts by 20% passes the Senate.^[23]
• 28 August, 2025: Government legislation to enshrine penalty rates in law passes the Senate.^[24]
• 10 September, 2025: Sussan Ley removes Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from her shadow ministry over comments by Price that suggested that the government was specifically bringing in Indian migrants as they were more likely to vote Labor.^[25]
• 3 October, 2025: Andrew Hastie quits the Ley shadow ministry over disagreements about immigration policy.^[26]
• 27 November, 2025: Barnaby Joyce quits the Nationals and moves to the crossbench to sit as an independent. This reduces the Coalition down from 43 seats in the House to 42 seats.
• 8 December, 2025: Joyce joins One Nation, becoming the party's first member of the House of Representatives in the 48th parliament.
• 22 January, 2026: David Littleproud announces that all National Party members have left the shadow cabinet, and that the Nationals are no longer party to the Coalition agreement.^[27]
• 8 February, 2026: The Liberals and the Nationals reunify, agreeing that shadow cabinet decisions could no longer be overturned by neither individual party, but instead only be overturned by a joint Coalition Party room
• 13 February, 2026: Angus Taylor successfully spills Sussan Ley for the leadership of the Liberal Party, becoming Leader of the Opposition.
• 17 February, 2026: Taylor announces his shadow ministry.
• 10 March, 2026: David Littleproud announces resignation as the leader of the National Party, but will remain as the National MP for the Division of Maranoa.^[28]
• 11 March, 2026: Matt Canavan becomes leader of the National Party
• 16 March, 2026: Canavan announces a reshuffle of National Party portfolios in the shadow ministry.
• 9 May 2026: David Farley wins the 2026 Farrer by-election as the One Nation candidate, bringing them 2 MP's.
• 12 May 2026: Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers the 2026-27 Federal Budget
• 14 May 2026: Senator Tammy Tyrrell announces that she has joined the Labor Party, bringing their senate total up to 30 MPs.^[29][30]

The date and type of federal election is determined by the Prime Minister – after a consideration of constitutional requirements, legal requirements, as well as political considerations – who advises the Governor-General to set the process in motion by dissolving either or both houses and issuing writs for election for the House of Representatives and territorial senators. The Constitution of Australia does not require simultaneous elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives, but it has long been preferred that elections for the two houses take place simultaneously. The most recent House-only election took place in 1972, and the most recent Senate-only election took place in 1970. The last independently dated Senate election writ occurred during the Gair Affair in 1974. Federal elections must be held on a Saturday^[39] which has been the case since the 1913 federal election.^[40]

Subject to those considerations, an election for the House of Representatives can be called at any time before the expiration of the three-year term of the House of Representatives^[41][42] The term of the House of Representatives starts on the first sitting day of the House following its election and runs for a maximum of three years, but the House can be dissolved earlier.^[41] The date of the first sitting can be extended provided that "There shall be a session of the Parliament once at least in every year, so that twelve months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the Parliament in one session and its first sitting in the next session, but subject to the requirement that the House shall meet not more than 30 days after the date appointed for the return of the writs."^[43] The actual date of the election is later. Between 10 and 27 days must be allowed for nominations,^[44] and the actual election would be set between 21 and 31 days after the close of nominations.^[45] Accordingly, between 31 and 58 days must be allowed after the issue of the writs to the election.

The term of senators ends on 30 June either three (for half the senators if it follows a double-dissolution) or six years after their election. Elections of senators at a half-Senate election must take place in the year before the terms expire, except if parliament is dissolved earlier.^[46] The terms of senators from the territories align with House elections. The latest date that a half-Senate election can 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. This took over a month in 2016, so practically, the date in which a half-Senate election is to take place must be between 1 July of the year before Senate terms expire until mid-May of the expiry year.

A double dissolution cannot take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives.^[47]

The Constitutional and legal provisions which impact on the choice of election dates include:^[48]

• 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"^[49]
• 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.^[46]
• 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."^[50]
• 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."^[51]
• 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".^[44]
• 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".^[45]
• Section 158 of the CEA says: "The day fixed for the polling shall be a Saturday".^[39]