User:Frickeg/By-election records

Largest two-party-preferred swing
Swings of over 10% are listed. Swings are considered to be the change in a party's majority and do not take into account parties entering the two-party-preferred count for the first time. Such parties are marked with an asterisk (*). Prior to 1984, preferences were not counted to completion once the winning candidate reached 50%; in these cases an estimate is used and the entry appears in italics. Attempts are not made to estimate margins before the introduction of preferential voting in 1919.

Largest increase in primary vote
Increases of over 10% are listed. This list does not include debut performances.

Largest decrease in primary vote
Decreases of more than 10% are listed.

Largest primary share of the vote
Candidates with primary votes of more than 60% are listed.

Lowest winning primary share of the vote
Victorious candidates with less than 40% of the primary vote are listed.

Largest two-party-preferred majorities
Majorities of over 20% are listed. Prior to 1984, preferences were not counted to completion once the winning candidate reached 50%; in these cases an estimate is used and the entry appears in italics. There are no entries for by-elections prior to the introduction of preferential voting in 1918.

Smallest two-party-preferred majorities
Majorities of less than 1% are listed.

Most candidates

 * 22: 1992 Wills by-election; 2009 Bradfield by-election
 * 17: 2017 New England by-election
 * 16: 2005 Werriwa by-election; 2018 Wentworth by-election
 * 15: 2001 Aston by-election; 2018 Perth by-election
 * 14: 2020 Eden-Monaro by-election
 * 13: 2002 Cunningham by-election; 2015 North Sydney by-election
 * 12: 1982 Lowe by-election; 1996 Blaxland by-election; 1996 Lindsay by-election; 2015 Canning by-election; 2017 Bennelong by-election
 * 11: 1973 Parramatta by-election; 2008 Mayo by-election; 2014 Griffith by-election; 2018 Longman by-election
 * 10: 1997 Fraser by-election

Durable by-election candidates
Candidates who have contested more than three by-elections are listed here.

Former members attempting a comeback at a by-election

 * 1904 Wilmot by-election: Norman Cameron, who was a member for Tasmania from 1901 to 1903, was the successful Free Trade candidate.
 * 1912 Werriwa by-election: Alfred Conroy, who was the member for Werriwa from 1901 to 1906, was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate.
 * 1915 Grampians by-election: Both candidates were former members: successful Liberal Carty Salmon was the member for Laanecoorie from 1901 to 1913, while Labor candidate John McDougall was the member for Wannon from 1906 to 1913.
 * 1917 Darwin by-election: William Spence, who was the member for Darling from 1901 to 1917, was the successful Nationalist candidate.
 * 1918 Swan by-election: William Hedges, who was the member for Fremantle from 1906 to 1913, was the unsuccessful Nationalist candidate.
 * 1918 Corangamite by-election: James Scullin, who was the member for Corangamite from 1910 to 1913, was the unsuccessful Labor candidate.
 * 1920 Ballaarat by-election: Charles McGrath, who was the member for Ballaarat from 1913 to 1919, was the successful Labor candidate.
 * 1922 Yarra by-election: James Scullin, who was the member for Corangamite from 1910 to 1913, was the successful Labor candidate.
 * 1929 Balaclava by-election: Frederick Francis, who was the member for Henty from 1919 to 1925, was an unsuccessful Independent Nationalist candidate.
 * 1929 Franklin by-election: Alfred Seabrook, who was the member for Franklin from 1922 to 1928, was an unsuccessful Nationalist candidate.
 * 1931 Parkes by-election: Charles Marr, who was the member for Parkes from 1919 to 1929, was the successful Nationalist candidate.
 * 1932 East Sydney by-election: Eddie Ward, who had served as the member for East Sydney briefly in 1931, was the successful NSW Labor candidate. Lou Cunningham, who represented Gwydir for Labor from 1919 to 1925 and from 1929 to 1931, was the Labor candidate.
 * 1939 Wilmot by-election: Allan Guy, who had served as the member for Bass from 1929 to 1931 for Labor and from 1931 to 1934 for the United Australia Party, was the unsuccessful UAP candidate.
 * 1940 Swan by-election: Thomas Marwick, who had served as a Country Party Senator for Western Australia from 1936 to 1937, was the successful Country Party candidate.
 * 1953 Corangamite by-election: Dan Mackinnon, who had served as a Liberal MP for Wannon from 1949 to 1951, was the successful Liberal candidate.
 * 1978 Werriwa by-election: John Kerin, who had served as a Labor MP for Macarthur from 1972 to 1975, was the successful Labor candidate.
 * 1983 Moreton by-election: Donald Cameron, who had served as a Liberal MP for Griffith since 1966 and transferred to Fadden in 1977, had been defeated at the 1983 federal election. He was the victorious Liberal candidate at the by-election for Moreton.
 * 1995 Wentworth by-election: Bill Wentworth, who had served as the Liberal member for Mackellar from 1949 to 1977, ran as an independent candidate and polled 18.85%.
 * 1996 Lindsay by-election: Ross Free, the defeated Labor member at the 1996 federal election, ran again as the Labor candidate following Liberal winner Jackie Kelly's disqualification. Kelly also recontested and was victorious.
 * 2018 Braddon by-election: Brett Whiteley, the defeated Liberal member at the 2016 federal election, ran again as the Liberal candidate following Labor winner Justine Keay's resignation as a result of citizenship issues. Keay also recontested and was victorious.

Senators attempting a transfer to the House

 * 1921 Parramatta by-election: New South Wales Nationalist Senator Herbert Pratten was the winning candidate.
 * 1968 Higgins by-election: Victorian Liberal Senator and Prime Minister John Gorton was the winning candidate.
 * 1981 McPherson by-election: Queensland NCP Senator Glen Sheil was an unsuccessful candidate.
 * 1981 Curtin by-election: WA Liberal Senator Allan Rocher was the winning candidate.
 * 1994 Mackellar by-election: NSW Liberal Senator Bronwyn Bishop was the winning candidate.

Shortest-serving by-election victors
Members with service of less than two years are listed.

Youngest by-election victors
Victors who were under the age of 30 at the time of their election are listed. The youngest woman to win a by-election is Jackie Kelly, who was aged 32 years, 251 days when she won the 1996 Lindsay by-election.

Oldest by-election victors
Victors aged over 55 at the time of their election are listed. The oldest woman to win a by-election was Bronwyn Bishop, who was aged 51 years, 171 days when she won the 1994 Mackellar by-election.

First women by-election victors
The first woman to win a by-election was Labor's Carmen Lawrence, who won the 1994 Fremantle by-election on 12 March. The first Liberal woman to win a by-election, Bronwyn Bishop, won the 1994 Mackellar by-election on 26 March. The first woman to contest a by-election was Grace Stratton, an independent candidate for the 1951 Balaclava by-election.

Longest period without a by-election
Periods when there were no by-elections for over two years are listed:

Four parliaments have been without by-elections: the 9th (1922–1925), the 18th (1946–1949), the 19th (1949–1951) and 43rd (2010–2013).

Longest period without a seat changing hands
Periods of over three years are listed:

Most by-elections in one day
The highest number of by-elections held on a single day is five:
 * 28 July 2018 — Braddon (Tas), Fremantle (WA), Longman (Qld), Mayo (SA), Perth (WA)

There have twice been three by-elections in one day:
 * 21 February 1981 &mdash; Boothby (SA), Curtin (WA) and McPherson (Qld).
 * 18 February 1984 &mdash; Corangamite (Vic), Hughes (NSW) and Richmond (NSW).

Most by-elections in a single parliament
There were 10 by-elections during the 20th Parliament (1951–1954). The 45th Parliament (2016–2019) saw nine, the 37th Parliament (1993–1996) saw eight, and the 25th Parliament (1963–1966) saw seven.

Most by-elections for a single electorate
There have been five by-elections for the seat of Werriwa: in 1912, 1952, 1978, 1994 and 2005.

Causes of by-elections
Most by-elections are caused either by the resignation or the death of the sitting member. By-elections caused by other factors are listed here:
 * Previous election result declared void
 * 1904 Melbourne by-election
 * 1904 Riverina by-election
 * 1907 Echuca by-election
 * 1920 Ballaarat by-election
 * Member resigned to recontest
 * 1903 East Sydney by-election
 * Member expelled
 * 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election
 * Member disqualified
 * 1996 Lindsay by-election
 * 2017 New England by-election
 * Member resigned on learning of disqualification
 * 2017 Bennelong by-election
 * 2018 Batman by-election
 * 2018 Braddon by-election
 * 2018 Fremantle by-election
 * 2018 Longman by-election
 * 2018 Mayo by-election

Incumbent party falls directly from first to third place

 * 1918 Corangamite by-election: The Nationalist Party dropped to third after the entry of the Victorian Farmers' Union.

Government gains seats/Opposition loses seats

 * 1909 Wakefield by-election &mdash; the newly-formed Commonwealth Liberal Party, in government under Alfred Deakin, gained the seat after the death of the Independent Speaker of the House of Representatives.
 * 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election &mdash; the Hughes Nationalist Government gained the seat following the expulsion of the Labor member; this is the only time a government has gained a seat directly from the Opposition at a by-election.
 * 1921 Maranoa by-election &mdash; the Opposition Labor Party lost the seat to the newly formed Country Party.
 * 1929 Franklin by-election &mdash; the Scullin Labor Government gained the seat after the death of the Independent member.
 * 2002 Cunningham by-election &mdash; the Opposition Labor Party lost the seat to a Greens candidate.
 * 2008 Lyne by-election &mdash; the National Party, junior partner in the Opposition, lost the seat to an independent candidate.

By-election victors defeated at next election

 * 1902 Tasmania by-election &mdash; The winner, the Free Trade Party's William Hartnoll, contested Bass after Tasmania was divided into electorates at the 1903 federal election, but was defeated by the Protectionist candidate.
 * 1904 Wilmot by-election &mdash; The winner, the Free Trade Party's Norman Cameron, contested the 1906 federal election as an independent and was defeated by the Anti-Socialist candidate.
 * 1911 Boothby by-election &mdash; The winner, the Liberal Party's David Gordon, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1913 federal election.
 * 1915 Bendigo by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Alfred Hampson, was defeated by the Nationalist candidate at the 1917 federal election.
 * 1917 Darwin by-election &mdash; The winner, the Nationalist Party's William Spence, contested the seat of Batman at the 1919 federal election and was defeated by the Labor candidate.
 * 1918 Swan by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Edwin Corboy, was defeated by the Farmers & Settlers candidate at the 1919 federal election.
 * 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election &mdash; The winner, the Nationalist Party's George Foley, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1922 federal election.
 * 1929 Franklin by-election &mdash; The Winner, the Labor Party's Charles Frost, was defeated by the UAP candidate at the 1931 federal election.
 * 1931 East Sydney by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Eddie Ward, was defeated (as a NSW Labor candidate) by the United Australia Party candidate at the 1931 federal election.
 * 1938 Wakefield by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Sydney McHugh, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 1940 federal election.
 * 1939 Wilmot by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Lancelot Spurr, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 1940 federal election.
 * 1940 Swan by-election &mdash; The winner, the Country Party's Thomas Marwick, contested the 1943 federal election as an independent candidate and was defeated by the endorsed Country Party candidate.
 * 1941 Boothby by-election &mdash; The winner, the United Australia Party's Grenfell Price, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1943 federal election.
 * 1952 Flinders by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Keith Ewert, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 1954 federal election.
 * 1982 Flinders by-election &mdash; The winner, the Liberal Party's Peter Reith, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1983 federal election, although he was returned at the 1984 federal election.
 * 1988 Adelaide by-election &mdash; The winner, the Liberal Party's Mike Pratt, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1990 federal election.
 * 1995 Canberra by-election &mdash; The winner, the Liberal Party's Brendan Smyth, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 1996 federal election, when he contested the new seat of Namadgi.
 * 2001 Ryan by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Leonie Short, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 2001 federal election.
 * 2002 Cunningham by-election &mdash; The winner, the Greens' Michael Organ, was defeated by the Labor candidate at the 2004 federal election.
 * 2018 Braddon by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Justine Keay, who was re-contesting over citizenship issues, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 2019 federal election.
 * 2018 Longman by-election &mdash; The winner, the Labor Party's Susan Lamb, who was re-contesting over citizenship issues, was defeated by the LNP candidate at the 2019 federal election.
 * 2018 Wentworth by-election &mdash; The winner, Independent Kerryn Phelps, was defeated by the Liberal candidate at the 2019 federal election.

Incumbent party did not contest

 * 1908 Adelaide by-election: Protectionist MP Charles Kingston had died. In a prelude to the Fusion of the following year, an independent anti-socialist was the only opposition to Labor.
 * 1928 Wide Bay by-election: Nationalist Party member Edward Corser had died. The by-election was won unopposed by his son, Bernard Corser, who ran for the Nationalists' Coalition partner the Country Party.

Major party did not run
It is quite common for major parties not to contest by-elections held by the other party by safe margins. This list does not include uncontested by-elections, which can be found below.
 * Not contested by Labor:
 * 1901 Darling Downs by-election
 * 1903 East Sydney by-election
 * 1904 Wilmot by-election
 * 1904 Riverina by-election
 * 1907 Echuca by-election
 * 1919 Echuca by-election
 * 1928 Wide Bay by-election
 * 1929 Balaclava by-election
 * 1946 Wimmera by-election
 * 1952 Bradfield by-election
 * 1989 Gwydir by-election
 * 1991 Menzies by-election
 * 1994 Mackellar by-election
 * 1994 Warringah by-election
 * 1994 Kooyong by-election
 * 1995 Wentworth by-election
 * 2008 Lyne by-election
 * 2008 Mayo by-election
 * 2009 Bradfield by-election
 * 2009 Higgins by-election
 * 2015 North Sydney by-election
 * Not contested by the Coalition:
 * 1908 Adelaide by-election
 * 1914 Adelaide by-election
 * 1935 Newcastle by-election
 * 1936 Kennedy by-election
 * 1953 Dalley by-election
 * 1955 Cook by-election
 * 1956 Cunningham by-election
 * 1960 Hunter by-election
 * 1962 Batman by-election
 * 1963 East Sydney by-election
 * 1996 Blaxland by-election
 * 1997 Fraser by-election
 * 1999 Holt by-election
 * 2000 Isaacs by-election
 * 2002 Cunningham by-election
 * 2005 Werriwa by-election
 * 2018 Batman by-election
 * 2018 Fremantle by-election
 * 2018 Perth by-election

Party endorses multiple candidates

 * 1902 Tasmania by-election: The Protectionist Party endorsed two candidates.
 * 1927 Warringah by-election: The Labor Party endorsed two candidates.
 * 1929 Franklin by-election: The Nationalist Party endorsed two candidates.
 * 1937 Gwydir by-election: The Country Party endorsed three candidates.
 * 1939 Wilmot by-election: The United Australia Party endorsed three candidates and the Labor Party endorsed two. Labor candidate Lancelot Spurr was successful.
 * 1940 Kalgoorlie by-election: The United Australia Party endorsed two candidates.
 * 1940 Swan by-election: The Country Party endorsed two candidates, one of whom, Thomas Marwick, was successful.
 * 1946 Wimmera by-election: The Country Party endorsed two candidates, one of whom, Winton Turnbull, was successful.
 * 1952 Lyne by-election: The Country Party endorsed two candidates, one of whom, Philip Lucock, was successful.
 * 1953 Gwydir by-election: The Country Party endorsed two candidates, one of whom, Ian Allan, was successful.
 * 1957 Richmond by-election: The Country Party endorsed four candidates, one of whom, Doug Anthony, was successful.
 * 2009 Bradfield by-election: The Christian Democratic Party endorsed nine candidates, an event that resulted in a change in law preventing parties from nominating more than one candidate in future.

Victories by minor parties and independents

 * 1932 East Sydney by-election: won by the Australian Labor Party (NSW), a splinter group from the federal party.
 * 1992 Wills by-election: won by Independent candidate Phil Cleary.
 * 2002 Cunningham by-election: won by the Greens.
 * 2008 Lyne by-election: won by Independent candidate Rob Oakeshott, who had served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 1996.
 * 2018 Mayo by-election: won by Centre Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie, who had held the seat before resigning over citizenship issues.
 * 2018 Wentworth by-election: won by Independent candidate Kerryn Phelps.

Strong performances by minor parties and independents
Minor parties and independents who received at least 10% of the primary vote or were part of the final two-party-preferred count are listed below. The Position column refers to primary vote position. Prior to 1984 preferences were not counted to completion once the winning candidate reached 50% of the vote; in these cases an estimate of the two-party-preferred vote, in italics, is used.

Uncontested by-elections
There have been four by-elections where only one candidate contested, with the result that no vote was held and the candidate was declared elected:
 * 1913 Kalgoorlie by-election (Labor)
 * 1915 Dalley by-election (Labor)
 * 1928 Wide Bay by-election (Country) &mdash; the only time an uncontested by-election has resulted in the seat changing hands, although in this case it was between the Nationalist Party and its Coalition partner the Country Party.
 * 1956 Cunningham by-election (Labor)

By-elections having national significance

 * 1918 Flinders by-election: VFU candidate threatens to split the vote but withdraws after the Nationalist Party agrees to introduce preferential voting.
 * 1918 Swan by-election: loss of safe conservative seat to Labor galvanises the Nationalist Party to introduce preferential voting.
 * 1918 Corangamite by-election: first federal election contest conducted using preferential voting; first federal victory for a state country party (the VFU).
 * 1975 Bass by-election: massive Liberal gain heralds the end of the Whitlam Labor government.
 * 1992 Wills by-election: former Prime Minister Bob Hawke's seat won by an independent candidate.
 * 2002 Cunningham by-election: Greens victory damages the Opposition leadership of Simon Crean.
 * 2009 Bradfield by-election: Nine Christian Democrat candidates prompt a change in the law restricting parties running more than one candidate in a single seat.

Firsts and lasts

 * Last uncontested by-election: 1956 Cunningham by-election