# 1913 Australian federal election

The 1913 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal Party under Joseph Cook, marking the second time an Australian Prime Minister was defeated at an election. The new government had a majority of just a single seat, and held a minority of seats in the Senate. It would last only 15 months, suffering defeat at the 1914 election.
The 1913 election was held in conjunction with six referendum questions, none of which were carried. According to David Day, Andrew Fisher's biographer, "it was probably the timing of the referenda that was most responsible for the disappointing election result" for the Labor Party.

## Results
### House of Representatives

House of Reps 1913–14 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.49% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.83% :
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| Liberal | 930,076 | 48.94 | +3.85 | 38 | +7 |
| Labor | 921,099 | 48.47 | −1.50 | 37 | −5 |
| Independents | 49,194 | 2.59 | −2.35 | 0 | −2 |
| Total | 1,900,369 | | | 75 | |
| Liberal | Win | | | 38 | +7 |
| Labor | | | | 37 | −5 |
Notes
* Three members were elected unopposed – one Liberal and two Labor.
Popular vote
Liberal
48.94%
Labor
48.47%
Independent
2.59% :
Parliament seats
Liberal
50.67%
Labor
49.33% :

### Senate

Senate 1913–14 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 73.66% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A :
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change |
| Liberal | 946,807 | 49.38 | +3.83 | 7 | 7 | −7 |
| Labor | 934,176 | 48.72 | −1.58 | 11 | 29 | +7 |
| Socialist Labor | 20,183 | 1.05 | +1.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Independents | 16,233 | 0.85 | −2.51 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,917,399 | | | 18 | 36 | |

## Seats changing hands

| Seat | Pre-1913 | Pre-1913 | Pre-1913 | Pre-1913 | Swing | Post-1913 | Post-1913 | Post-1913 | Post-1913 |
| Seat | Party | Party | Member | Margin | Swing | Margin | Member | Party | Party |
| Ballaarat, Vic | | Liberal | Alfred Deakin | 1.1 | 3.1 | 0.6 | Charles McGrath | Labor | |
| Bendigo, Vic | | Liberal | John Quick | 1.3 | 3.6 | 2.0 | John Arthur | Labor | |
| Boothby, SA | | Liberal | David Gordon | 7.1 | 10.8 | 3.0 | George Dankel | Labor | |
| Calare, NSW | | Labor | Thomas Brown | 3.6 | 5.9 | 2.1 | Henry Pigott | Liberal | |
| Corangamite, Vic | | Labor | James Scullin | 4.7 | 6.1 | 2.2 | Chester Manifold | Liberal | |
| Corio, Vic | | Labor | Alfred Ozanne | 4.4 | 5.1 | 1.8 | William Kendell | Liberal | |
| Fremantle, WA | | Liberal | William Hedges | 4.5 | 11.4 | 5.8 | Reginald Burchell | Labor | |
| Gippsland, Vic | | Independent | George Wise | 12.1 | 12.7 | 5.0 | James Bennett | Liberal | |
| Hume, NSW | | Independent | William Lyne | 16.4 | 16.2 | 0.7 | Robert Patten | Liberal | |
| Indi, Vic | | Labor | Parker Moloney | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.2 | Cornelius Ahern | Liberal | |
| New England, NSW | | Labor | Frank Foster | 2.7 | 9.5 | 6.5 | Percy Abbott | Liberal | |
| Oxley, Qld | | Liberal | Richard Edwards | 12.2 | N/A | 4.4 | James Sharpe | Labor | |
| Riverina, NSW | | Labor | John Chanter | 7.0 | 8.6 | 1.0 | Franc Falkiner | Liberal | |
| Wannon, Vic | | Labor | John McDougall | 5.0 | 7.8 | 4.2 | Arthur Rodgers | Liberal | |
| Werriwa, NSW | | Labor | Benjamin Bennett | 0.8 | 6.5 | 5.9 | Alfred Conroy | Liberal | |
* Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.