Turnout: 90.70%

Overview

The 2025 Australian Senate election was held on 3 May 2025 alongside the House of Representatives, contesting 40 of the 76 seats. Held on the same day as Labor's landslide lower-house victory, it strengthened the government's hand in the upper house: Labor topped the national Senate first-preference vote and won the most seats of the contest, easing — though not removing — its reliance on the crossbench.

The electoral system

Senators are elected by proportional single transferable vote, with six returned per state for six-year terms at a half-Senate election and two per territory. A state seat requires a quota of about 14.3% of the vote, which keeps the Senate more pluralistic than the House. The bars and map above show first-preference vote share by party, with the senators each won at this election.

The result

Labor won 16 of the 40 contested seats and the Coalition 13, with the Greens taking six, One Nation three, the Jacqui Lambie Network one and independent David Pocock re-elected in the Australian Capital Territory. On first preferences Labor led with 35.11% to the Coalition's 29.89% and the Greens' 11.72% — the first time in years that Labor had topped the national Senate vote. One Nation's three-seat haul marked a recovery for Pauline Hanson's party, while the Greens held their ground in the Senate even as they lost House seats.

Regional patterns

Labor led the first-preference Senate vote in every state except Queensland, where the Coalition retained a plurality, and David Pocock topped the count in the ACT. One Nation's strength was again concentrated in Queensland and the resource states. The map above colours each state and territory by its first-preference leader; click any region for the full breakdown and the senators returned.

What happened next

The new Senate, sitting from July 2025, left Labor in a markedly stronger position than at any point in its first term: depending on the final composition, the government could pass legislation with the support of the Greens alone, reducing the number of crossbench votes it needed to negotiate. Combined with its enormous House majority, the result gave the second Albanese government one of the most workable parliamentary positions any Australian government had enjoyed in years.

Official data source

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) — official tally room results at results.aec.gov.au.

Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.

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