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2016 Australian federal election
(Senate)

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All 76 seats in the Australian Senate 39 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader George Brandis Penny Wong Richard Di Natale Party Liberal/National Coalition Labor Greens Leader since 20 September 2015 26 June 2013 6 May 2015 Leader's seat Queensland South Australia Victoria Seats before 33 25 10 Seats won 30 26 9 Seat change 3 1 1 Popular vote 4,868,246 4,123,084 1,197,657 Percentage 35.18% 29.79% 8.65% Swing 2.52% 0.16% 0.58%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Pauline Hanson Nick Xenophon David Leyonhjelm Party One Nation Xenophon Team Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Queensland (won seat) South Australia New South Wales Seats before 0 1 1 Seats won 4 3 1 Seats after 4 3 1 Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 593,013 456,369 298,915 Percentage 4.29% 3.30% 2.16% Swing 3.76% 1.37% 1.59%   Seventh party Eighth party   Leader Derryn Hinch Jacqui Lambie Party Justice Lambie Network Leader's seat Victoria (won seat) Tasmania (won seat) Seats before New New Seats won 1 1 Seats after 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 266,607 69,074 Percentage 1.93% 0.50% Swing 1.93% 0.50%
Government (30) Coalition   Liberal (21)   LNP (5)   National (3)   CLP (1) Opposition (26)   Labor (26) Crossbench (20)   Greens (9)   One Nation (4)   Xenophon Team (3)   Family First (1)   Liberal Democrat (1)   Lambie (1)   Hinch (1)
Leader of the Senate before election George Brandis Liberal/National coalition Elected Leader of the Senate George Brandis Liberal/National coalition

2016 Australian federal election
Debates and forums Pre-election pendulum Candidates Polling National Electorate
National results
House of Representatives Senate Post-election pendulum
State and territory results
New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania Australian Capital Territory Northern Territory
Elected House of Representative members Elected Senate members
v t e

The 2016 Australian federal election in the Senate was part of a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissolution election since the 1987 election and the first under a new voting system for the Senate that replaced group voting tickets with optional preferential voting.

The final outcome in the 76-seat Australian Senate took over four weeks to complete despite significant voting changes. Earlier in 2016, legislation changed the Senate voting system from a full-preference single transferable vote with group voting tickets to an optional-preferential single transferable vote. The final Senate result was announced on 4 August: Liberal/National Coalition 30 seats (−3), Labor 26 seats (+1), Greens 9 seats (−1), One Nation 4 seats (+4) and Nick Xenophon Team 3 seats (+2). Former broadcaster and founder of the Justice Party Derryn Hinch, won a seat, while Jacqui Lambie, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and Family First's Bob Day retained their seats. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three.

A number of initially-elected senators were declared ineligible a result of the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, and replaced after recounts.

Terms of senators

The two major parties negotiated to allocate a six-year term to the first elected six of twelve senators in each state, while the last six received a three-year term. This was consistent with the Senate practice on all seven previous occasions. In 1983 the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform had unanimously recommended an alternative "recount" method to reflect proportional representation, and the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides for a recount on that basis. This alternative method had been supported by both Labor and the Coalition in two separate, identical, bipartisan senate resolutions, passed in 1998 and 2010. By not adhering to their previous resolutions, Labor and the Coalition each gained one senate seat from 2019.

Australia

The final Senate result was announced on 4 August. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government won 30 seats, a net loss of three − the Coalition lost four Senators, one each from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but gained a Senator in Victoria. The Labor opposition won 26 seats, a gain of one − a Senator in Western Australia. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition would require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three.

Senate (STV OPV) – Turnout 91.93% (CV) – Informal 3.94%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Change
	Liberal–National Coalition		4,868,246	35.18	–1.32	30	3
		Liberal/National joint ticket	2,769,426	20.01	−1.16	10
		Liberal	1,066,579	7.71	+0.77	14	2
		Liberal National	960,467	6.94	−1.16	5	1
		Country Liberal	37,156	0.27	−0.05	1
		National (WA)	34,618	0.25	−0.06	0
	Labor		4,123,084	29.79	+0.16	26	1
	Greens		1,197,657	8.65	−0.58	9	1
	One Nation		593,013	4.29	+3.76	4	4
	Xenophon Team		456,369	3.30	+1.37	3	2
	Liberal Democrats		298,915	2.16	–1.59	1
	Justice		266,607	1.93	+1.93	1	1
	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers		192,923	1.39	+0.44
	Family First		191,112	1.38	+0.26	1
	Christian Democrats		162,155	1.17	+0.63
	Animal Justice		159,373	1.15	+0.46
	Liberty Alliance		102,982	0.74	+0.74
	Democratic Labour		94,510	0.68	–0.18	0	1
	Sex Party		94,262	0.68	–0.64
	Health Australia		85,233	0.62	+0.62
	Sex Party/HEMP joint ticket		76,744	0.55	+0.55
	Lambie Network		69,074	0.50	+0.50	1	1
	Christians		66,525	0.48	+0.09
	Drug Law Reform		61,327	0.44	+0.38
	Motoring Enthusiasts		53,232	0.38	–0.12	0	1
	Katter's Australian		53,123	0.38	–0.50
	Glenn Lazarus Team		45,149	0.33	+0.33
	Marriage Equality		44,982	0.33	+0.33
	Arts		37,702	0.27	+0.27
	Rise Up Australia		36,424	0.26	–0.10
	Pirate		35,184	0.25	–0.11
	Renewable Energy		29,983	0.22	+0.22
	Science/Cyclists joint ticket		29,934	0.22	+0.22
	HEMP		29,510	0.21	–0.50
	Sustainable Australia		26,341	0.19	+0.08
	Palmer United		26,210	0.19	–5.42	0	3
	Cyclists		24,276	0.18	+0.18
	Voluntary Euthanasia		23,252	0.17	–0.06
	Seniors United		22,213	0.16	+0.16
	VOTEFLUX.ORG		20,453	0.15	+0.15
	Mature Australia		18,920	0.14	+0.14
	Online Direct Democracy		11,857	0.09	+0.06
	Secular		11,077	0.08	–0.01
	Defence Veterans		10,391	0.08	+0.08
	Socialist Alliance		9,968	0.07	+0.04
	Citizens Electoral Council		9,850	0.07	+0.06
	Country		9,316	0.07	+0.07
	Socialist Equality		7,865	0.06	+0.02
	Progressives		6,251	0.05	+0.05
	CountryMinded		5,989	0.04	+0.04
	Manufacturing and Farming		5,268	0.04	+0.04
	Australia First		3,005	0.02	+0.02
	Recreational Fishers		2,376	0.02	+0.02
	Non-Custodial Parents		2,102	0.02	+0.01
	Science		1,306	0.01	+0.01
	Unendorsed/ungrouped		25,280	0.18	+0.00
Total			13,838,900			76
Invalid/blank votes			567,806	3.94	+1.01
Registered voters/turnout			15,671,551	91.93	–1.52
Source: Federal Election 2016

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

Western Australia

South Australia

Tasmania

Territories

Australian Capital Territory

Northern Territory

Notes

1. Brandis was the Leader of the Government in the Senate, whereas the leader of the Coalition in the Australian House of Representatives was Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
2. Wong was the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, whereas the leader of the Labor Party in the Australian House of Representatives was Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
3. 3 LNP Senators sit in the Liberal party room and 2 in the National party room
4. Sits in National party room
5. ^ Nash was declared to be ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns because she was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. A special recount resulted in Jim Molan being declared to have been elected.
6. ^ Roberts was declared to be ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns because he was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. A special recount determined that Fraser Anning was elected instead.
7. ^ Waters resigned on 18 July 2017 because she was a dual citizen of Canada. The Court of Disputed Returns declared she was ineligible to be elected. A special recount declared Andrew Bartlett had been elected instead.
8. ^ Ludlam resigned on 14 July 2017 because he was a dual citizen of New Zealand. The Court of Disputed Returns declared he was ineligible to be elected. A special recount led to Steele-John being declared to have been elected instead.
9. ^ Culleton was found ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns. A special recount led to Georgiou being declared to have been elected on 10 March 2017.
10. ^ Kakoschke-Moore resigned on 22 November 2017 after learning she was a British citizen by descent. The Court of Disputed Returns declared she had been ineligible to be elected on 13 February 2018. A special recount determined that Tim Storer was elected instead.
11. ^ Day was found ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns. A special recount led to Gichuhi being declared to have been elected on 19 April 2017.
12. In 2016, Lisa Singh was demoted to sixth position on the Labor Party's Tasmanian Senate ticket behind Senator Catryna Bilyk and union secretary John Short. A quota in Tasmania was 26,090 votes with Singh receiving 20,741 below-the-line votes: enough to overturn the party’s ticket order. She was the 10th senator elected for Tasmania, ahead of Catryna Bilyk (elected 11th), with John Short missing out.
13. ^ Parry resigned on 1 November 2017 because he was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. A special recount determined that Colbeck was elected instead.
14. ^ Lambie resigned on 14 November 2017 because she was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. The Court of Disputed Returns declared she had been ineligible to be elected on 9 February 2018. A special recount determined that Martin was elected instead.

References

1. Nicole Hasham (3 July 2016). "Election 2016 results: Senate count throws up a wild mix as One Nation, Fred Nile, Liberal Democrats vie for seats". news.com.au. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
2. ^ "AEC". Twitter. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
3. ^ "Federal Election 2016: Senate Results". Australia Votes. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
4. ^ "Senate photo finishes". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
5. ^ "Division of the Senate following simultaneous general elections". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
6. Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform (13 September 1983). "First report - electoral reform" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. pp. 66–7.
7. Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 282 Re-count of Senate votes to determine order of election in other circumstances.
8. Green, A (25 April 2016). "How long and short terms are allocated after a double dissolution". ABC.net.au.
9. "Double dissolution election: implications for the Senate". Parliament of Australia. 29 January 2016.
10. "Election 2016: Pauline Hanson secures six-year Senate term, Derryn Hinch has three years until re-election". ABC News. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
11. Senate terms: Derryn Hinch and Greens' Lee Rhiannon given three years - The Guardian 12 August 2016
12. ALP-LNP deal to force senators back to poll in three years: The Australian 13 August 2016
13. Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019: SMH 12 August 2016
14. "Coalition flags first elected Senate plan: Sky News 12 August 2016". Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
15. Cormann raises ‘first elected’ plan to halve Senate terms for crossbenchers: The Australian 12 December 2016
16. "2016 Federal Election: First preferences by Senate group". Australian Electoral Commission. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
17. Barber, Stephen (7 April 2017). "Federal Election 2016" (PDF). Research Paper 2016–17. Parliamentary Library. ISSN 2203-5249.
18. ^ Re Canavan [2017] HCA 45 (27 October 2017) "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court. 27 October 2017.
19. Re Culleton (No 2) [2017] HCA 4. "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court. 3 February 2017.
20. "Senator Peter Georgiou". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
21. Byrne, Elizabeth; Doran, Matthew (13 February 2018). "High Court rules former NXT senator cannot replace herself, Tim Storer likely to win recount". ABC News. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
22. Re Day [2017] HCA 14, "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court of Australia.
23. "Senator Lucy Gichuhi". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
24. "Labor unveils Senate candidates with Lisa Singh relegated to unwinnable spot". ABC News. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
25. "Lisa Singh's success rewrites history as Greens Nick McKim snares final Tasmanian Senate seat". The Mercury. 27 July 2016.
26. Remeikis, Amy (1 November 2017). "Liberal Stephen Parry to resign over dual British citizenship". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2017.

v t e (2013 ←)   2016 Australian federal election (→ 2019)
Incumbent Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal) Subsequent Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal)
Campaign	Debates and forums Pre-election pendulum Candidates Polling National Electorate
Results	House of Representatives Senate New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania Australian Capital Territory Northern Territory Post-election pendulum 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis
Elected House of Representative members Elected Senate members

v t e Results of Australian federal elections
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• 2016 Australian federal election
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