# 1946 Australian federal election

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 | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 2,159,953 | 49.71 | −0.22 | 43 | −6 |
| | Liberal–Country coalition | 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) | Labor (Non-Communist) | 69,138 | 1.59 | +0.87 | 1 | +1 |
| | Communist | Communist | 64,811 | 1.49 | +1.49 | 0 | 0 |
| | Services | Services | 55,140 | 1.27 | +1.27 | 0 | 0 |
| | Protestant People's | Protestant People's | 20,111 | 0.46 | +0.46 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independents | Independents | 79,040 | 1.82 | −10.34 | 2 | -1 |
| | Total | Total | 4,344,542 | | | 75 | |
| Two-party-preferred (estimated) ||||||||
| | Labor | Labor | Win | 54.10 | −4.10 | 43 | −6 |
| | Liberal–Country coalition | 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% :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change |
| Labor | Labor | 2,133,272 | 52.06 | −3.02 | 16 | 33 | +11 |
| Liberal–Country coalition | 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 | Protestant People's | 123,541 | 3.02 | +3.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Services | Services | 37,724 | 0.92 | +0.92 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Independents | Independents | 27,767 | 0.68 | –3.83 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 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 | Pre-1946 | Pre-1946 | Pre-1946 | Swing | Post-1946 | Post-1946 | Post-1946 | Post-1946 |
| Seat | Party | Party | Member | Margin | Swing | Margin | Member | Party | 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.