1951 Australian federal election

1951 Australian federal election

← 1949 28 April 1951 1954 →

All 123[b] seats of the House of Representatives
61 seats were needed for a majority in the House
All 60 seats of the Senate
Opinion polls
Registered4,962,675 Increase 1.38%
Turnout4,654,406 (96.00%)[a]
(Increase0.03 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Robert Menzies Ben Chifley
Party Liberal (Coalition) Labor
Leader since 21 February 1945 13 July 1945
Leader's seat Kooyong (Vic.) Macquarie (NSW)
Last election 74 seats 47 seats
Seats won 69 52 + NT + ACT
Seat change Decrease5 Increase6
Popular vote 2,298,512 2,174,840
Percentage 50.34% 47.63%
Swing Increase0.08 Increase1.65
TPP 50.70% 49.30%
TPP Decrease0.30 Increase0.30

Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

Robert Menzies
Liberal/Country coalition

Subsequent Prime Minister

Robert Menzies
Liberal/Country coalition

The 1951 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 28 April 1951. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution called after the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Bank Bill.[1] The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies defeated the opposition Labor Party led by Ben Chifley with a modestly reduced majority,[2] and secured a majority in the Senate.[3] This was the last time the Labor party ever held a Senate majority. Chifley died just over a month after the election. This was the sixth and last federal election prior to the death of George VI a year later.


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  1. ^ "Chapter 21 – Relations with the House of Representatives". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. Simultaneous dissolutions of 1951. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  2. ^ "1951 House of Representatives". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Federal Election Results 1949-1993" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 June 2018.