Adelaide — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Adelaide was won by Steve Georganas (Labor) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 17,543 votes over Shaun Osborn after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Adelaide from 1903 to 2019.

Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.

Full Election History (After Preferences), 1903–2019

Election	Winner	Party	Final Votes	Final Share	Runner-up	Margin
1903	Charles Kingston	Prot	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1906	Charles Kingston	Prot	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1910	Ernest Roberts	Labor	9,443	63.3%	Alexander Mclachlan (Liberal)	3,977 (26.7 pts)
1913	Ernest Roberts	Labor	15,985	69.2%	James Craig (Liberal)	8,881 (38.5 pts)
1914	Edwin Yates	Labor	16,762	66.5%	Walter Hamilton (Liberal)	8,301 (32.9 pts)
1917	Edwin Yates	Labor	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1919	Reginald Blundell	National	10,523	50.8%	Edwin Yates (Labor)	339 (1.6 pts)
1922	Edwin Yates	Labor	10,714	64.6%	George Mcleay (Liberal)	4,842 (29.2 pts)
1925	Edwin Yates	Labor	19,693	50.9%	George Mcleay (National)	675 (1.7 pts)
1928	Edwin Yates	Labor	20,410	55.9%	George Mcleay (National)	4,296 (11.8 pts)
1929	Edwin Yates	Labor	24,174	61.4%	Arthur Wreford (National)	9,003 (22.9 pts)
1931	Fred Stacey	EC	22,523	59.6%	Edwin Yates (Labor)	7,284 (19.3 pts)
1934	Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	28,848	53.2%	Kenneth Bardolph (Labor)	3,512 (6.5 pts)
1937	Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	31,721	54.0%	Kenneth Bardolph (Labor)	4,744 (8.1 pts)
1940	Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	30,517	58.4%	Edgar Dawes (Labor)	8,778 (16.8 pts)
1943	Cyril Chambers	Labor	40,110	63.9%	Fred Stacey (United Australia Party)	17,474 (27.8 pts)
1946	Cyril Chambers	Labor	40,638	62.6%	Ian Hayward (Liberal)	16,400 (25.3 pts)
1949	Cyril Chambers	Labor	23,823	61.6%	Basil Harford (Liberal)	9,003 (23.3 pts)
1951	Cyril Chambers	Labor	22,938	61.0%	Thomas Phillips (Liberal)	8,268 (22.0 pts)
1954	Cyril Chambers	Labor	18,446	56.4%	Nancy Buttfield (Liberal)	4,180 (12.8 pts)
1955	Cyril Chambers	Labor	18,801	58.3%	James Maitland (Liberal)	5,371 (16.7 pts)
1958	Joseph Sexton	Labor	17,869	55.7%	Ian Wilson (Liberal)	3,643 (11.4 pts)
1961	Joseph Sexton	Labor	18,804	61.7%	John Rundle (Liberal)	7,156 (23.5 pts)
1963	Joseph Sexton	Labor	18,194	59.9%	Karl-Juergen Liebetrau (Liberal)	6,006 (19.8 pts)
1966	Andrew Jones	Liberal	15,961	52.8%	Joseph Sexton (Labor)	1,705 (5.6 pts)
1969	Chris Hurford	Labor	29,641	62.6%	Andrew Jones (Liberal)	11,897 (25.1 pts)
1972	Chris Hurford	Labor	28,816	58.7%	Keith Ashdown (Liberal)	8,544 (17.4 pts)
1974	Chris Hurford	Labor	31,572	62.5%	Harold Steele (Liberal)	12,661 (25.1 pts)
1975	Chris Hurford	Labor	30,487	52.8%	Harold Steele (Liberal)	3,186 (5.5 pts)
1977	Chris Hurford	Labor	35,786	57.0%	George Basisovs (Liberal)	8,812 (14.0 pts)
1980	Christopher Hurford	Labor	36,124	59.0%	Peter Camm (Liberal)	11,067 (18.1 pts)
1983	Chris Hurford	Labor	39,134	61.8%	Barry James (Liberal)	14,978 (23.7 pts)
1984	Chris Hurford	Labor	37,894	60.0%	Jenni London (Liberal)	12,604 (19.9 pts)
1987	Chris Hurford	Labor	36,468	56.5%	Peter Panagaris (Liberal)	8,412 (13.0 pts)
1990	Bob Catley	Labor	36,267	53.7%	Michael Pratt (Liberal)	4,994 (7.4 pts)
1993	Trish Worth	Liberal	39,188	51.3%	Bob Catley (Labor)	2,007 (2.6 pts)
1996	Trish Worth	Liberal	39,182	53.5%	Gail Gago (Labor)	5,120 (7.0 pts)
1998	Trish Worth	Liberal	37,731	50.9%	Karen Hannon (Labor)	1,352 (1.8 pts)
2001	Trish Worth	Liberal	38,928	50.2%	Tim Stanley (Labor)	343 (0.4 pts)
2004	Kate Ellis	Labor	43,671	51.3%	Trish Worth (Liberal)	2,266 (2.7 pts)
2007	Kate Ellis	Labor	51,868	58.5%	Tracy Marsh (Liberal)	15,111 (17.1 pts)
2010	Kate Ellis	Labor	50,164	57.7%	Luke Westley (Liberal)	13,371 (15.4 pts)
2013	Kate Ellis	Labor	49,338	53.9%	Carmen Garcia (Liberal)	7,220 (7.9 pts)
2016	Kate Ellis	Labor	52,219	54.7%	David Colovic (Liberal)	8,894 (9.3 pts)
2019	Steve Georganas	Labor	62,362	58.2%	Shaun Osborn (Liberal)	17,543 (16.4 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1903

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Charles Kingston	Prot	-1	100.0%

1906

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Charles Kingston	Prot	-1	100.0%

1910

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Ernest Roberts	Labor	9,443	63.3%
Alexander Mclachlan	Liberal	5,466	36.7%

1913

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Ernest Roberts	Labor	15,985	66.1%
James Craig	Liberal	7,104	29.4%
Edward Craigie	Independent	1,077	4.5%

1914

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	16,762	66.5%
Walter Hamilton	Liberal	8,461	33.5%

1917

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	-1	100.0%

1919

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Reginald Blundell	National	10,523	50.8%
Edwin Yates	Labor	10,184	49.2%

1922

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	10,714	51.7%
George Mcleay	Liberal	5,872	28.4%
Reginald Blundell	National	4,123	19.9%

1925

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	19,693	50.9%
George Mcleay	National	19,018	49.1%

1928

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	20,410	55.9%
George Mcleay	National	16,114	44.1%

1929

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Edwin Yates	Labor	24,174	61.4%
Arthur Wreford	National	15,171	38.6%

1931

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Fred Stacey	EC	15,907	42.1%
Edwin Yates	Labor	11,193	29.6%
Crawford Vaughan	Independent	4,500	11.9%
Thomas Howard	Independent	3,058	8.1%
Agnes Goode	Independent	2,449	6.5%
John Zwolsman	Communist Party of Australia	655	1.7%

1934

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Kenneth Bardolph	Labor	19,985	36.9%
Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	19,941	36.8%
Edward Bagot	Independent	9,055	16.7%
Ernest Hergstrom	SC	2,403	4.4%
Arthur Mcarthur	Independent	1,711	3.2%
Frank Blake	Independent	1,089	2.0%

1937

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	26,575	45.3%
Kenneth Bardolph	Labor	16,989	28.9%
Edwin Yates	Labor	9,683	16.5%
Herbert George	Labor	5,451	9.3%

1940

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	29,393	50.0%
Edgar Dawes	Labor	19,950	33.9%
Raymond Davis	Independent	4,906	8.3%
Albert Edwards	Independent	4,587	7.8%

1943

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	40,110	60.0%
Fred Stacey	United Australia Party	22,636	33.8%
Alfred Watts	Communist Party of Australia	2,854	4.3%
Edwin Yates	Independent	1,291	1.9%

1946

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	40,638	59.9%
Ian Hayward	Liberal	24,238	35.7%
Alfred Watt	Communist Party of Australia	2,986	4.4%

1949

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	23,823	59.8%
Basil Harford	Liberal	14,820	37.2%
Elsie Watt	Communist Party of Australia	683	1.7%
Christopher Doherty	Independent	504	1.3%

1951

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	22,938	59.8%
Thomas Phillips	Liberal	14,670	38.3%
Edward Robertson	Communist Party of Australia	732	1.9%

1954

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	18,446	55.3%
Nancy Buttfield	Liberal	14,266	42.8%
Charles Mccaffrey	Communist Party of Australia	625	1.9%

1955

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Cyril Chambers	Labor	18,801	50.6%
James Maitland	Liberal	13,430	36.1%
Olaf Alland	Labor (Anti-Communist)	4,395	11.8%
James Moss	Communist Party of Australia	526	1.4%

1958

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Joseph Sexton	Labor	17,869	50.0%
Ian Wilson	Liberal	14,226	39.8%
Baylon Ryan	Democratic Labor Party	3,642	10.2%

1961

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Joseph Sexton	Labor	18,804	55.8%
John Rundle	Liberal	11,648	34.5%
Ursula Cock	Democratic Labor Party	3,276	9.7%

1963

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Joseph Sexton	Labor	18,194	56.1%
Karl-Juergen Liebetrau	Liberal	12,188	37.6%
Patrick Coffey	Democratic Labor Party	2,036	6.3%

1966

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Andrew Jones	Liberal	14,724	48.7%
Joseph Sexton	Labor	14,027	46.4%
George Basisovs	Democratic Labor Party	1,466	4.9%

1969

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	29,641	58.3%
Andrew Jones	Liberal	17,744	34.9%
George Basisovs	Democratic Labor Party	2,131	4.2%
Anne Mcmenamin	AP	734	1.4%
Anatolij Onishko	Independent	582	1.1%

1972

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	28,816	55.8%
Keith Ashdown	Liberal	20,272	39.2%
George Basisovs	Democratic Labor Party	1,738	3.4%
Elliott Johnston	Communist Party of Australia	848	1.6%

1974

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	31,572	55.8%
Harold Steele	Liberal	18,911	33.4%
Raymond Buttery	LM	5,005	8.9%
John Davies	AP	1,061	1.9%

1975

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	28,621	49.5%
Harold Steele	Liberal	24,825	43.0%
Robert Hercus	LM	3,817	6.6%
David Middleton	AP	525	0.9%

1977

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	35,786	50.9%
George Basisovs	Liberal	26,974	38.3%
Geoffrey Stewart	Australian Democrats	7,610	10.8%

1980

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Christopher Hurford	Labor	36,124	52.1%
Peter Camm	Liberal	25,057	36.2%
Peter Adamson	Australian Democrats	8,109	11.7%

1983

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	39,134	55.8%
Barry James	Liberal	24,156	34.4%
Eileen Farmer	Australian Democrats	4,604	6.6%
John Buik	Independent	1,894	2.7%
Paul Petit	Independent	385	0.5%

1984

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	34,960	55.3%
Jenni London	Liberal	22,650	35.8%
Andrew Sickerdick	Australian Democrats	4,383	6.9%
Mark Thiel	Independent	479	0.8%
Bryan Stokes	National	434	0.7%
John Buik	Independent	284	0.4%

1987

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Chris Hurford	Labor	31,572	48.9%
Peter Panagaris	Liberal	22,943	35.5%
Chris Wurm	Australian Democrats	5,857	9.1%
Bryan Stokes	National	3,287	5.1%
Graham Smith	Communist Party of Australia	535	0.8%
Charles Shahin	Independent	368	0.6%

1990

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Bob Catley	Labor	27,422	40.5%
Michael Pratt	Liberal	26,953	39.8%
Peter Mann	Australian Democrats	9,197	13.6%
Keith Oehme	Greens	1,878	2.8%
Cathryn Linedale	Communist Party	1,123	1.7%
Jean Booth	Independent	1,100	1.6%

1993

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Trish Worth	Liberal	34,296	44.8%
Bob Catley	Labor	31,459	41.1%
Matthew Mitchell	Australian Democrats	6,451	8.4%
Jack King	Independent	1,624	2.1%
Peter Fenwick	Independent	1,514	2.0%
Adam Hanieh	Independent	558	0.7%
Chris Matuhina	Independent	318	0.4%
David Birdstrup	Independent	295	0.4%

1996

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Trish Worth	Liberal	35,285	47.9%
Gail Gago	Labor	27,802	37.7%
Mark Andrews	Australian Democrats	6,052	8.2%
Tim Graham	Greens	2,028	2.8%
Dan Carey	Independent	1,142	1.6%
Barbara Fraser	Independent	542	0.7%
Peter Fenwick	Independent	322	0.4%
Jane Manifold	Independent	305	0.4%
David Birdstrup	Independent	194	0.3%

1998

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Trish Worth	Liberal	32,173	43.4%
Karen Hannon	Labor	27,756	37.5%
Tyron Beard	Australian Democrats	7,077	9.5%
Suzanne Ramsey	One Nation	3,837	5.2%
Mark Moran	Greens	2,518	3.4%
Rita Hunt	Independent	462	0.6%
Vladimir Lorenzon	Independent	287	0.4%

2001

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Trish Worth	Liberal	34,258	44.2%
Tim Stanley	Labor	28,732	37.1%
Sue Mann	Australian Democrats	8,255	10.6%
Lynne Osborn	Greens	4,638	6.0%
Lee Peacock	One Nation	1,630	2.1%

2004

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Trish Worth	Liberal	38,530	45.3%
Kate Ellis	Labor	35,666	41.9%
Jake Bugden	Greens	6,794	8.0%
Peter Robins	FFP	1,753	2.1%
Richard Pascoe	Australian Democrats	1,355	1.6%
Amanda Barlow	Independent	978	1.1%

2007

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Kate Ellis	Labor	42,774	48.3%
Tracy Marsh	Liberal	34,056	38.4%
Peter Solly	Greens	8,641	9.8%
Dennis Slape	Family First	1,801	2.0%
Sandy Biar	Australian Democrats	1,353	1.5%

2010

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Kate Ellis	Labor	38,162	43.9%
Luke Westley	Liberal	32,673	37.6%
Ruth Beach	Greens	11,901	13.7%
Suzanne Neal	Family First	1,900	2.2%
Marie Nicholls	Australian Democrats	819	0.9%
Gemma Weedall	Independent	786	0.9%
Christopher Steele	Independent	716	0.8%

2013

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Kate Ellis	Labor	38,650	42.3%
Carmen Garcia	Liberal	38,463	42.1%
Ruth Beach	Greens	9,251	10.1%
Peter Lee	Family First	2,169	2.4%
Vincent Scali	Palmer United Party	1,943	2.1%
Liah Lazarou	Independent	980	1.1%

2016

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
David Colovic	Liberal	34,809	36.4%
Kate Ellis	Labor	34,325	35.9%
Joe Hill	Nick Xenophon Team	12,283	12.9%
Sophie Guy	Greens	9,973	10.4%
Adrian Rivish	Family First	1,832	1.9%
Matt Tidswell	AJP	1,292	1.4%
Tyrone Lock	Liberal Democrats	1,030	1.1%

2019

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Steve Georganas	Labor	43,163	40.3%
Shaun Osborn	Liberal	38,753	36.2%
Barbara Pocock	Greens	16,853	15.7%
Antonio Rea	United Australia Party	3,479	3.2%
Deanna Kangas	AJP	2,894	2.7%
Chris James	Australian Democrats	2,039	1.9%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

Trend

Adelaide has been contested at 45 federal elections on record since 1903. Winning parties over that span: Prot, Labor, National, EC, United Australia Party, Liberal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Adelaide in the 2019 federal election?

Steve Georganas (Labor) won Adelaide in 2019 after preferences, with 62,362 votes (58.2%) to Shaun Osborn's 44,819.

Which parties have won Adelaide since 1903?

Since 1903, Adelaide has been won by: EC, Labor, Liberal, National, Prot, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in Adelaide?

The closest result on record for Adelaide was 2001, when Trish Worth (Liberal) beat Tim Stanley by 343 votes (0.4 percentage points) after preferences.