1931 Australian Federal Election
Depression election19 December 1931 · Depression and war · 75 seats, 38 for a majority
The incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party (ALP) government led by Prime Minister James Scullin was defeated in a landslide by the United Australia Party (UAP) led by Joseph Lyons. As of 2025, this is the last time that a sitting government at a federal level has been defeated after a single term.
Prime Minister before
James Scullin
Labor
Prime Minister after
Joseph Lyons
United Australia
Largest force
United Australia
33 of 75 seats
Turnout
95.0%
The result
| Share of the House | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Australia | Joseph Lyons | 33 | +14 | — | 36.4% | — | |
| Country | Earle Page | 16 | +6 | — | 12.2% | +1.9 | |
| Labor | James Scullin | 15 | -21 | — | 27.1% | -21.7 | |
| Emergency Committee | — | 5 | +5 | — | 5.5% | — | |
| Lang Labor | Jack Lang | 4 | -1 | — | 10.6% | +10.6 | |
| Independents | — | 3 | -1 | — | 6.0% | -0.0 |