The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

took place on Saturday, 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

led by

Opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

and Coalition partner the

National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. Traditionally represe ...

, led by

Warren Truss In structural engineering, a Warren truss or equilateral truss is a type of truss employing a weight-saving design based upon Triangle, equilateral triangles. It is named after the British engineer James Warren (engineer), James Warren, who pat ...

, defeated the incumbent centre-left Labor Party

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

in a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

. It was also the third time in history that a party won 90 or more seats at an Australian election. Labor had been in government for six years since being elected in the 2007 election. This election marked the end of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor government and the start of the 9 year long Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Liberal-National Coalition government. Abbott was sworn in by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...

, as Australia's new prime minister on 18 September 2013, along with the Abbott Ministry. The 44th Parliament of Australia opened on 12 November 2013, with the members of the House of Representatives and territory senators sworn in. The state senators were sworn in by the next Governor-General

Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired senior Australian Army, Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal ...

on 7 July 2014, with their six-year terms commencing on 1 July. The proclamation dissolving the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and formally beginning the election period had been issued by Governor-General Bryce on 5 August 2013. The

writs of election A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

were subsequently issued by Bryce for the election of members of the House of Representatives and territory senators, and by the state governors for the senators for each state. Voting in Australia's federal elections has been compulsory since

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. For the House of Representatives, a

preferential ballot Ranked voting is any voting system that uses voters' Ordinal utility, rankings of candidates to choose a single winner or multiple winners. More formally, a ranked vote system depends only on voters' total order, order of preference of the cand ...

system has been in use since

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

, in single-member seats. For the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

—the proportionally representative upper house—a

single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...

system has been in use since

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, with optional

group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a Ranked voting systems, preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member ele ...

s since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Elections are conducted by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

(AEC). A special half-Senate election was conducted on 5 April 2014 in Western Australia as a result of 1,375 lost ballot papers.

Key dates

accepted

's advice to dissolve Parliament and hold a general election – 4 August 2013 *Prorogation of 43rd Parliament – 5:29 pm Monday 5 August 2013 *Dissolution of House of Representatives – 5:30 pm Monday 5 August 2013 *Issue of writs – Monday 5 August 2013 *Close of rolls – 8 pm Monday 12 August 2013 *Close of candidate nominations – 12 noon Thursday 15 August 2013 *Declaration of candidate nominations – 12 noon Friday 16 August 2013 *Election day or Polling day – Saturday 7 September 2013 *Swearing-in of 44th Parliament – Wednesday 18 September 2013 *Last day for the return of writs – Monday 13 November 2013 *Deadline for first meeting of the 44th Parliament – Wednesday 13 December 2013 On 30 January 2013, the then Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

had announced the election would be held on 14 September. However, following a leadership ballot in June 2013, she was replaced as leader and prime minister by Rudd, who then abandoned the originally planned date. A

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on amending the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

to allow the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

to directly fund local councils, which was initially planned to be held on the same day as the federal election, could not go ahead on the date announced by Rudd. This is because Section 128 of the

Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

requires that a referendum be submitted to electors between two and six months after its passage through Parliament. As early voting started on 20 August it could not be submitted then.

43rd Parliament

House of Representatives

Australian House of Reps April 2012 Rect

At the 2010 federal election,

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and the Liberal/National Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat

, four short of the requirement for

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

, resulting in the first

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...

since the 1940 federal election. On the

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

, one member of the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

, one member of the

National Party of Western Australia The Western Australian National Party, officially known as the National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, and branded as Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia, but maintains ...

and four

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

members held the balance of power. After gaining the support of the Greens and three independents on

confidence and supply In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...

votes, Labor was able to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

with 76 seats, the smallest possible margin in the 150-seat House.

Changes in House numbers

On 24 November 2011,

Harry Jenkins Henry Alfred "Harry" Jenkins, (born 18 August 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 26th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was the me ...

resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives and returned to the Labor backbench. Later, that day, Deputy Speaker

Peter Slipper Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian former politician and bishop who served as the 27th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia for most of his ca ...

was elected Speaker and quit the Liberal National Party to become an

. This changed nominal

numbers on the floor of the house from 75–74 to 76–73. In January 2012,

Andrew Wilkie Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Division of Clark, Clark (previously Division of Denison, Denison). Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Austr ...

withdrew his guarantee of confidence to the incumbent government, changing numbers to 75–73 in the event of his abstention, or 75–74 in the event of his support for a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the government. In April 2012, Labor's Craig Thomson moved to the crossbenches as an independent MP, and in May, WA National Tony Crook moved from the crossbenches to the Nationals, but did not join the Coalition. Changes brought the government to 71 seats, the Coalition 72 seats and seven crossbenchers. On 9 October 2012, after an unsuccessful vote of no confidence in the speakership, Slipper resigned as Speaker and was replaced by Labor Deputy Speaker

Anna Burke Anna Elizabeth Burke (born 1 January 1966) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from October 2012 to August 2013, and was Acting Speaker from May to October 2012. A membe ...

. Slipper remained an independent MP.

Pendulum

Senate

Before the election, the 76-seat

was made up of senators from the Coalition (34), Australian Labor Party (31), Australian Greens (9), Democratic Labour Party (1) and one independent senator,

Nick Xenophon Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; ; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who was a Australian Senate, Senator for South Australia from 2008 until 2017. As a centrist, populist, independent politician, he twice sh ...

. The Greens held the sole balance of power. Previously the Greens had held a shared balance of power with the

Family First Party The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into w ...

and Xenophon. Of the 76 Senate seats, 40 are contested. This corresponds to half of each state's allocation as well as both senators from the two major

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

. Newly elected state senators commenced their terms on 1 July 2014 and the senators of the territories began their terms immediately after their elections.

Election period

On 30 January 2013, at a speech at the

National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

, Prime Minister

announced the election would be held on Saturday 14 September 2013, although the Governor-General was not formally advised and no

writ of election A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

was issued.

succeeded Julia Gillard as prime minister on 27 June 2013. The ''

Broadcasting Services Act 1992 The ''Broadcasting Services Act 1992'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which broadly covers issues relating to content regulation and media ownership in Australia. The law stipulates what is political advertising and the spe ...

'' was checked by various commercial broadcasting media outlets and media councils as a result of Gillard's announcement. The Act says, in part, and This is interpreted as "equal time, over time" rather than equal time in the same broadcast, and that this requirement began with the announcement on 30 January 2013.

Retiring MPs and senators

The terms of members of the House of Representatives who did not renominate ended at the dissolution of the parliament (5 August 2013). The terms of senators who did not renominate ended on 30 June 2014, unless they represented the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory, in which case their term ended on the day before polling day (6 September 2013). That date also applies to territory senators who contest the election but are defeated. Members and senators who chose not to renominate are as follows:

Independent

Rob Oakeshott Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...

MP ( Lyne, NSW) – announced retirement 26 June 2013 *

Tony Windsor Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an Independent (politician), independent member for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of electoral district of Tamworth, Tamworth ...

MP (

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, NSW) – announced retirement 26 June 2013

Labor

Greg Combet Gregory Ivan Combet (; born 28 April 1958) is the chairman of Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund. Prior to this he served as chair of the Australian Government Net Zero Economy Agency, establishing a government authority to over ...

MP (

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wales ...

, NSW) – announced retirement 29 June 2013 *

Simon Crean Simon Findlay Crean (26 February 1949 – 25 June 2023) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham i ...

MP ( Hotham, VIC) – announced retirement 1 July 2013 *

Craig Emerson Craig Anthony Emerson (born 15 November 1954) is an Australian economist and former politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party, he served as the Australian House of Representatives Member for the Division of Rankin in Queensland from 1 ...

MP ( Rankin, Qld) – announced retirement 26 June 2013 * Martin Ferguson MP (

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, Vic) – announced retirement 29 May 2013 *

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...

MP ( Kingsford Smith, NSW) – announced retirement 26 June 2013 * Steve Gibbons MP (

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, Vic) – announced retirement 29 August 2011 *

MP (

Lalor Lalor is an Irish surname derived from the Irish ''Ó Leathlobhair'', from ''leath-'' “leper; weak, ailing person”. Notable people with the surname include: * Denis Lalor, athlete * Francis Ramsey Lalor (1856–1929), politician * James Fi ...

, Vic) – announced retirement 26 June 2013 *

Sharon Grierson Sharon Joy Grierson (born 4 May 1951 in Newcastle, New South Wales) was educated at Newcastle Teachers College, and worked as a teacher and school principal before entering politics. Grierson became a member of the Australian Labor Party, and ...

MP (

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, NSW) – announced retirement 18 July 2012 *

MP ( Scullin, Vic) – announced retirement 26 July 2012 * Kirsten Livermore MP ( Capricornia, Qld) – announced retirement 27 November 2012 * Robert McClelland MP ( Barton, NSW) – announced retirement 29 January 2013 *

Nicola Roxon Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is an Australian former politician. After politics, she has worked as a company director and academic. Roxon represented the lower house seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party; ...

MP ( Gellibrand, VIC) – announced retirement 2 February 2013 * Stephen Smith MP (

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, WA) – announced retirement 27 June 2013 * Senator

Mark Bishop Thomas Mark Bishop (born 29 June 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Western Australia from July 1996 until June 2014. He was born in Adelaid ...

(WA) – announced retirement 15 April 2013 * Senator

Trish Crossin Patricia Margaret Crossin (born 21 March 1956) is a former Australian politician, who served as a Senator for the Northern Territory from June 1998 to September 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party. Crossin was born in Melbourne and ...

(NT) – lost preselection 28 January 2013 * Senator

John Hogg John Joseph Hogg (born 19 March 1949) is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1996 to 2014, representing the Labor Party. He served as President of the Senate from 2008 to 2014. Early life Hogg was born ...

(Qld) – announced retirement 10 August 2012

Liberal

* Joanna Gash MP (

Gilmore Gilmore or Gillmore may refer to: *Gilmore (surname) Places Australia *Gilmore, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong * Gilmore Avenue, a road in southern Perth, Western Australia *Division of Gilmore, a ...

, NSW) – announced retirement 25 January 2012 *

Barry Haase Barry Wayne Haase (born 19 November 1945) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013. He initially represented the Western Australian Division o ...

MP ( Durack, WA) – announced retirement 15 June 2013 *

Judi Moylan Judith Eleanor Moylan (born 24 February 1944) is a former Australian politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2013, representing the Western Australian seat of Pearce for the Liberal Party. She served as Minister for ...

MP ( Pearce, WA) – announced retirement 28 July 2011 *

Alby Schultz Albert John Schultz (29 May 193914 July 2015) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013, representing the Division of Hume in New South Wales. Biography E ...

MP ( Hume, NSW) – announced retirement 17 April 2012 *

Patrick Secker Patrick Damien "Pat" Secker (born 6 June 1956), Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013, representing the Division of Barker, South Australia. Biography Secker wa ...

MP (

Barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

, SA) – announced retirement on 25 June 2013 *

Alex Somlyay Alexander Michael Somlyay (born 18 January 1946) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013, representing the Queensland seat of Fairfax for the Liberal Party. He briefly held ministeri ...

MP ( Fairfax, Qld) – announced retirement 25 September 2010 *

Mal Washer Malcolm James Washer (born 12 August 1945), Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013, representing the Division of Moore, Western Australi ...

MP (

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

, WA) – announced retirement 28 July 2011 * Senator Sue Boyce (Qld) – announced retirement 8 October 2012 * Senator Alan Eggleston (WA) – announced retirement 9 April 2012 * Senator

Gary Humphries Gary John Joseph Humphries (born 6 July 1958) is a Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He was a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia from 2003 to 2 ...

(ACT) – lost preselection 23 February 2013

National

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

MP ( Mallee, Vic) – announced retirement 6 March 2013 *

Paul Neville Paul Neville may refer to: *Paul Neville (politician) (1940–2019), Australian politician *Paul Neville (musician) Paul Neville is an underground experimental guitarist and musician from Birmingham, England. He is best known as the second guit ...

MP ( Hinkler, Qld) − announced retirement 10 October 2012 * Senator

Ron Boswell Ronald Leslie Doyle Boswell (born 9 December 1940) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 1983 to 2014, representing the National Party. He was the party's Senate leader from 1990 to 2007, a record term. He was ...

(Qld) – announced retirement 21 September 2012

WA Nationals

* Tony Crook MP (

O'Connor O'Connor or O'Conor may refer to: People * O'Connor or O'Conor, an Irish clan * O'Connor Sligo, a royal dynasty ruling the northern part of the Kingdom of Connacht * O'Connor (surname), including a list of people with the surname Places * Burdett ...

) – announced retirement 9 April 2013

Electoral events timeline

* 30 January – Prime Minister

announces planned election date of 14 September 2013. * 2 February – Attorney-General

announces she will be retiring at the election. Higher Education Minister Senator Chris Evans, whose term was not due to finish until 2017, announces he will be resigning in the near future. * 19 February – Greens leader

Christine Milne Christine Anne Milne (; born 14 May 1953) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania. She was the leader of the parliamentary caucus of the Australian Greens from 2012 to 2015. Milne stepped down as leader on 6 May 2015, ...

announces that the alliance agreement with the ALP is over, but her party will not vote against confidence or supply. * 26 February – Gillard announces she will "campaign" in western Sydney for the following week, from Sunday night until Friday. * 19 March – Richard Torbay is forced to resign from the Nationals, forfeiting his candidature for the

Division of New England The Division of New England is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. History The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was o ...

Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...

puts his name forward as a possible replacement candidate, hoping to move from the Senate to the House of Representatives. * 21 March – Former Labor leader, Minister

asks Gillard for a party leadership vote, and publicly declares his support for Kevin Rudd. In parliament, the Opposition attempts to suspend standing orders for a

no confidence vote A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

and although gaining 73 votes to the government's 71 votes, fails to gain the absolute majority of 76 votes required. Crean is sacked from the ministry. At the leadership ballot no alternative candidate nominates, and Gillard is re-elected as ALP leader unopposed. Rudd supporters

Joel Fitzgibbon Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon (born 16 January 1962) is a retired Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, represen ...

Ed Husic Edham Nurredin "Ed" Husic (born 3 February 1970) is an Australian politician. Husic is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, elected to represent the seat of Chifley in western Sydney for the Australian Labor Party at the 2010 ...

Janelle Saffin Janelle Anne Saffin (born 1 November 1954) is an Australian politician and a member of the Labor Party. She has been the Member for Lismore in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 23 March 2019. She was the Member for Page in the Aus ...

and

Richard Marles Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician and lawyer serving as the 19th and current deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence (Australia), minister for Defence since May 2022. He has been the ...

quit their positions in the executive government. * 22 March – Rudd issues a statement that he will never again return to the ALP leadership.

Kim Carr Kim John Carr (born 2 July 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Victoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing the Labor Party, he was a minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments. Carr is a graduate of the ...

, Martin Ferguson and

Chris Bowen Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first elect ...

quit their ministries. * 23 March – Key independent MP

warns that ongoing instability within the ALP means the government will have difficulty surviving a

vote of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

when parliament resumes in May. * 2 May – The opposition indicates it will support the Government's

National Disability Insurance Scheme The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a scheme of the Australian Government that funds reasonable and necessary supports associated with significant and permanent disability for people under 65 years old. The scheme was first int ...

policy, including an increase in the

Medicare levy Medicare is the publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing manages the program, while Services Australia is responsible for claim and registration processing. The sc ...

from 1.5% to 2%. * 26 June – Independents

and

both announce they won't recontest their seats at the election.

defeats

in another Labor leadership spill by a 57–45 margin. After the spill, Gillard along with ministers

and

announce their retirement at the coming election. * 27 June – Rudd is sworn in as prime minister by

, with

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...

and

sworn in as deputy prime minister and Treasurer respectively. Defence Minister Stephen Smith MP announces his retirement at the coming election. * 29 June –

MP announces his retirement at the coming election. * 1 July – The

Second Rudd Ministry The second Rudd ministry (Labor) was the 67th ministry of the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. It succeeded the second Gillard ministry after a leadership spill within the Australian Labor Party that took place on 26 Ju ...

is sworn in.

MP announces his retirement at the coming election. * 1 July –

Wikileaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

party receives formal registration as a political party. * 22 July – The ALP caucus approves changes to the way the federal parliamentary leader is chosen. The new rules make it more difficult to change leaders and require a ballot of the party membership on contested leadership spills. * 4 August –

announces the election date as 7 September 2013. * 5 August –

, the

, issues the

election writ A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

. * 11 August – The first of three televised leaders debates between Rudd and Abbott is held in Canberra. * 21 August – The second televised leaders debate between Rudd and Abbott is held in Brisbane. * 25 August – The Coalition's formal campaign launch is held in Brisbane.Abbott pledges trustworthy government
''SBS News'', 25 August 2013. * 27 August – Treasurer Chris Bowen and shadow treasurer

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for Division of North Sydney, North Sydney from 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer ...

debate at the National Press Club. Later that evening, the third and final televised leaders debate between Rudd and Abbott is held at the Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney. * 28 August – The Coalition releases a document outlining $31.6 billion of proposed budget savings.Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey reveals $31.6bn in Coalition savings
news.com.au, 28 August 2013. * 29 August – The Rudd government releases several costings estimates which it claims show a $10 billion shortfall in the Coalition's claimed savings released the previous day.Hall, Bianca

''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 30 August 2013. In a strongly-worded statement, the secretaries of the Department of Treasury and Department of Finance criticise the use of these confidential costings prepared for the government, re-iterating that the assumptions used differ from the costings prepared for the Coalition.Statement on Costings by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Deregulation
, Department of the Treasury, 29 August 2013. * 1 September – Labor's formal campaign launch is held in Brisbane.Griffiths, Emma
Labor Party campaign launch to focus on jobs, small businesses and skills
''ABC News'', 1 September 2013. * 5 September – The Coalition releases its remaining policy costings, claiming a further $9 billion worth of savings, including a $4.5 billion reduction in Australia's foreign aid budget.As it happened: Coalition releases costings, Kevin Rudd speaks at Press Club
''ABC News'', 5 September 2013. Later in the day, the Coalition releases a policy document announcing the implementation of an opt-out

Internet filter An Internet filter is software that restricts or controls the content an Internet user is capable to access, especially when utilized to restrict material delivered over the Internet via the Web, Email, or other means. Such restrictions can be appl ...

. That evening, Shadow Communications Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...

states that the document was "poorly worded" and released by mistake, and that the Coalition had no such policy.Grimson, Matthew
Malcolm Turnbull says Coalition will not introduce opt-out internet filter after earlier supporting it
''ABC News'', 6 September 2013. * 7 September (election day) – The Liberal-National coalition defeats the Australian Labor Party with the Coalition expected to win about 90 seats in the House of Representatives. Kevin Rudd conceded defeat and announced that he would not renominate for the ALP's leadership. * 18 September – The Abbott Ministry is sworn in by

. * 17 October – A recount of all "above-the-line" Senate votes made in Western Australia is initiated after an appeal by the WA Greens and the Australian Sports Party is upheld. * 31 October – The AEC announces that it is unable to find 1,375 ballot papers during the WA Senate recount. * 31 October – The AEC declares

Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian billionaire businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, t ...

the winner of the seat of Fairfax, after two recounts, by a margin of 53 votes. Palmer claims the result vindicates his decision to challenge more than half the ballot papers cast. * 4 November – The AEC declares the result of the WA Senate recount, awarding the last two seats to the Greens and Australian Sports Party, instead of the ALP and Palmer United Party. * 15 November – The AEC disputes its own declaration of the WA Senate result, by lodging a petition with the Court of Disputed Returns, asking that the WA Senate result be declared null and void. * January 2014 – Justice

Kenneth Hayne Kenneth Madison Hayne (born 5 June 1945) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early life and education Hayne was born in Gympie, Queensland and attended Scotch College, Melbou ...

, in the Court of Disputed Returns, hears submissions from the AEC and political parties. On 30 January 2014, Hayne reserved his decision. * 20 February 2014 – The Court of Disputed Returns voids the results of the WA Senate election. * 21 February 2014 – Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn announces his resignation, to take effect on 4 July 2014.

Campaign

The incumbent Labor-led government argued for a need for a "safe pair of hands" to manage an economic shift from mining-oriented growth to something else; while the opposition said that it would prevent a recession that could be caused by a budget deficit. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' suggested both arguments hedged on the mining boom going bust. Rudd officially began the campaign season on 1 September in his hometown of Brisbane. At the rally, he promised tax breaks for small businesses and more work for local contractors on infrastructure projects. He said: "In this election, we are now engaged in the fight of our lives. It is a fight about the values that underpin Australia's future, a fight about our vision for Australia's future. It's a fight about how we go about building Australia's future, a future for the many, not just for the few." He also dismissed the opinion polls that showed him trailing to Abbott in gaining a parliamentary plurality.

Newspaper endorsements

The press overwhelmingly favoured the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

over

, with all of

News Corp The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...

's publications endorsing

's opposition over

's government, as well as Fairfax's publications such as ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', ''

'' and ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'', backing the Coalition over Labor. Fairfax's newspapers, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Canberra Times'' both considered the need for political stability a primary reason for supporting the Coalition, as well as criticising Labor's continuing infighting and scandals. ''The Age'' backed Labor, praising Labor's stewardship of the economy during the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and noting that, of the two parties, they were the one with a vision for Australia. ''The Sunday Age'', however, supported the Coalition, rejecting their daily counterpart's editorial that Labor had vision and that the election amounted to choosing a lesser evil, noting that during the election campaign a "genuine contest of ideas adnot materialised", that "the campaign adcontained no vision or policy clarion call commanding our attention and demanding our vote" and subsequently that "in the absence of policies and detailed economic information, voter decisiveness will depend on one issue: trust." During this period, various News Corp's papers published numerous front-page articles supporting The Coalition and denigrating Labor. During the campaign, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' ran front pages depicting Labor as Nazis, displaying a picture of Rudd above a headline telling readers to "Kick this mob out, and, on election day, ran the headline "After 33 days campaigning, 18 babies kissed, 104,275 km flown and six years of an incompetent Labor government, now it's... your turn." ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'', meanwhile, printed a front-page editorial with the headline "Australia needs Tony". Additionally, ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'' used a front page to depict Labor as clowns, and ran a headline of "Does This Guy Ever Shut Up" alongside a photo of Rudd during a debate. Similarly, in the weeks preceding the election, the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' ran the headline "Trust Me" alongside a photo Abbott and on the day of the election ran a front page consisting of the headline "It's Tony's Time" alongside another photo of Abbott.

National daily newspapers

National Sunday newspapers

International and foreign press

Opinion polls

Results

House of Representatives

Senate

Western Australia special Senate election

Most Senate votes cast in Western Australia were subject to a formal recount. During the recount it was determined that 1,375 WA Senate ballot papers could not be located. After the final recount the result was duly declared which changed the last two predicted WA Senate spots from Palmer and Labor back to Sports and Green.

Mick Keelty Michael Joseph Keelty (born 13 July 1954) is a retired Australian Police Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police from 2001 to 2009. He was also the inaugural chairperson of the Australian Crime Commission, now known as the Australian C ...

, a former AFP

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

, was requested by the AEC to investigate the issue of the misplaced ballot papers. On 15 November, the AEC

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

ed the High Court, acting as the Court of Disputed Returns, to seek an order from the court that the WA Senate election of all six senators (3 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Green, 1 Sport) be declared void. On 18 February 2014, it was announced that the Court of Disputed Returns had found that the result of the Western Australia Senate election should be voided, meaning a fresh election for all six senate vacancies would be required. On 28 February 2014 it was announced that the half-Senate election in Western Australia would take place on 5 April, which returned 3 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Green, 1 Palmer.

Seats changing hands

Members listed in italics did not re-contest their House of Representatives seats at this election.

Result commentary

The Labor Party recorded its lowest two-party preferred vote since

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and lowest primary vote since

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. Kevin Rudd announced his resignation as party leader and confirmed he would not run again in the subsequent leadership election. With

Nova Peris Nova Maree Peris (born 25 February 1971) is an Aboriginal Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian women's field hockey ( Hockeyroos) team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win a ...

's victory in the

election in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, she became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to parliament.

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

failed to be elected to the Senate after running in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, with his WikiLeaks Party garnering 0.62% of the popular vote. Former

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Syd ...

, standing in the Liberal-held seat of Forde, also failed to enter parliament. In an unprecedented outcome in Australian electoral history, the Senate result in Western Australia was declared void after the loss of over 1,300 ballot papers, necessitating a fresh election for the Senate in that state. Rudd suffered a large swing against him in his seat of

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

, which was large enough for the LNP candidate,

Bill Glasson Bill Glasson may refer to: * Bill Glasson (golfer) (born 1960), American golfer * Bill Glasson (politician) (1925–2012), Australian politician * Bill Glasson (surgeon) (born 1953), Australian ophthalmologist {{hndis, Glasson, Bill ...

, to have a higher first-preference vote than Rudd, although Rudd eventually won the seat on preferences. As of 2025, the 2013 election was the most recent time the Coalition saw an increase in the first preference vote in the House of Representatives.

Aftermath

The Coalition had campaigned on a tough stance on asylum seekers who came to Australia by boat (as had the Labor Party in the final weeks leading up to the election). Immediately after the election, Abbott reiterated his party's promise and announced that his new government would begin

Operation Sovereign Borders Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is a border protection operation led by the Australian Border Force, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia. The operation is the outcome of a 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 f ...

—which would turn back any vessels carrying asylum seekers—as soon as possible. He also confirmed he would abolish the

carbon price Carbon pricing (or pricing) is a method for governments to mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, the main driver of climat ...

that was introduced by the Gillard government, as well as lower foreign aid by A$4.5 billion.

Reactions

International reactions

* : Fijian Prime Minister

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

congratulated Abbott for his victory and hoped he would normalise relations between the two countries after the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore (rank), Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culminatio ...

, which caused Australia to sanction Fiji. Bainimarama previously criticised the sanctions and said relations would improve if Abbott replaced Rudd as prime minister. Many Fijian newspapers endorsed Abbott for the election, with the ''

Fiji Sun ''Fiji Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Fiji since September 1999 and owned by Sun News Limited. ''Fiji Sun'' was founded by and is part of CJ Patel Group. The Fiji Sun has its main newsroom in Suva, Fiji. Its print center remains in subu ...

'' printing an editorial titled "Abbott for PM".

Notes

References

External links

Antony Green's 2013 Federal election calendar

Antony Green's 2013 Federal election calculator

at the Australian Electoral Commission

including Senate group voting tickets, electorates, parties, etc. at the Australian Electoral Commission

– article describing the situation after 80% counted (yahoo) {{Australian elections Federal Federal Federal elections in Australia Bob Katter

Key dates

43rd Parliament

House of Representatives

Changes in House numbers

Pendulum

Senate

Election period

Retiring MPs and senators

Independent

Labor

Liberal

National

WA Nationals

Electoral events timeline

Campaign

Newspaper endorsements

National daily newspapers

National Sunday newspapers

International and foreign press

Opinion polls

Results

House of Representatives

Senate

Western Australia special Senate election

Seats changing hands

Result commentary

Aftermath

Reactions

International reactions

Notes

References

Further reading

External links