1961 Australian federal election

1961 Australian federal election

← 1958 9 December 1961 1963 →
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All 124[a] seats of the House of Representatives 62 seats were needed for a majority in the House 31 (of the 60) seats of the Senate
Registered	5,651,561 4.96%
Turnout	5,384,350 (95.27%) (0.21 pp)
First party Second party   Leader Robert Menzies Arthur Calwell Party Liberal/Country coalition Labor Leader since 23 September 1943 7 March 1960 Leader's seat Kooyong (Vic.) Melbourne (Vic.) Last election 77 seats 45 seats Seats won 62 60 + NT + ACT Seat change 15 15 Popular vote 2,208,213 2,512,929 Percentage 42.09% 47.90% Swing 4.46 5.09 TPP 49.50% 50.50% TPP swing 4.60 4.60
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
Prime Minister before election Robert Menzies Liberal/Country coalition Subsequent Prime Minister Robert Menzies Liberal/Country coalition

The 1961 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies defeated the opposition Labor Party under Arthur Calwell, despite losing the two-party-preferred popular vote. In his first election as Labor leader, Calwell significantly reduced the Coalition's margin, gaining 15 seats to leave the government with only a two-seat majority. This was the first and only time that a Federal Government won a sixth consecutive term in office.

Future opposition leader and Governor General Bill Hayden entered parliament at this election.
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