TheAustralian Labor Party (ALP), also known as theLabor Party or simplyLabor, is the majorcentre-leftpolitical party in Australia and one of twomajor parties inAustralian politics,[7] along with thecentre-rightLiberal Party of Australia. The party has been in government since the2022 federal election, and withpolitical branches active in all theAustralian states and territories, they currently hold government inNew South Wales,South Australia,Victoria,Western Australia, and theAustralian Capital Territory. As of 2025,Queensland,Tasmania andNorthern Territory are the only states or territories where Labor currently forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuously operating political party inAustralian history, having been established on 8 May 1901 atParliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the firstFederal Parliament.
The ALP is descended from the labour parties founded in the various Australian colonies by the emerginglabour movement. Colonial Labour parties contested seats from 1891, and began contesting federal seats followingFederation at the1901 federal election. In 1904, the ALP briefly formed what is considered the world's firstlabour party government and the world's firstdemocratic socialist orsocial democratic government at a national level.[8] At the1910 federal election, Labor became the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian parliament. In every election since 1910 Labor has either served as the governing party or the opposition. There have been 13 Labor prime ministers and 10 periods of federal Labor governments, including underBilly Hughes from 1915 to 1916,James Scullin from 1929 to 1932,John Curtin from 1941 to 1945,Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949,Gough Whitlam from 1972 to 1975,Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991,Paul Keating from 1991 to 1996,Kevin Rudd from 2007 to 2010 and 2013,Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2013, andAnthony Albanese since 2022.
The Labor Party is often called the party of unions due to its close ties to thelabour movement in Australia and historical founding by trade unions, with the majority of Australian trade unions being affiliated with the Labor Party. The party's structure allocates 50% of delegate representation at state and national conferences to affiliated unions, with the remaining 50% to rank-and-file party members.[9] At the federal and state/colony level, the Australian Labor Party predates both theBritish Labour Party and theNew Zealand Labour Party in party formation, government, and policy implementation.[10] Internationally, the ALP is a member of theProgressive Alliance, a network ofprogressive,democratic socialist andsocial democratic parties,[11] having previously been a member of theSocialist International.
In standardAustralian English, the wordlabour is spelt with au. However, the political party uses the spellingLabor, without au. There was originally no standardised spelling of the party's name, withLabor andLabour both in common usage. According toRoss McMullin, who wrote an official history of the Labor Party, the title page of the proceedings of theFederal Conference used the spelling "Labor" in 1902, "Labour" in 1905 and 1908, and then "Labor" from 1912 onwards.[12] In 1908,James Catts put forward a motion at the Federal Conference that "the name of the party be the Australian Labour Party", which was carried by 22 votes to 2. A separate motion recommending state branches adopt the name was defeated. There was no uniformity of party names until 1918 when the Federal party resolved that state branches should adopt the name "Australian Labor Party", now spelt without au. Each state branch had previously used a different name, due to their different origins.[13][a]
Although the ALP officially adopted the spelling without au, it took decades for the official spelling to achieve widespread acceptance.[16][b] According to McMullin, "the way the spelling of 'Labor Party' was consolidated had more to do with the chap who ended up being in charge of printing the federal conference report than any other reason".[20] Some sources have attributed the official choice ofLabor to influence fromKing O'Malley, who was born in the United States and was reputedly an advocate ofEnglish-language spelling reform; the spelling without au is the standard form inAmerican English.[21][22]
Andrew Scott, who wrote "Running on Empty: 'Modernising' the British and Australian Labour Parties", suggests that the adoption of the spelling without au "signified one of the ALP's earliest attempts at modernisation", and served the purpose of differentiating the party from theAustralian labour movement as a whole and distinguishing it from other British Empire labour parties. The decision to include the word "Australian" in the party's name, rather than just "Labour Party" as in the United Kingdom, Scott attributes to "the greater importance of nationalism for the founders of the colonial parties".[23]
The Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree (theTree of Knowledge) inBarcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The1891 shearers' strike is credited as being one of the factors for the formation of the Australian Labor Party. On 9 September 1892 theManifesto of the Queensland Labour Party was read out under the well knownTree of Knowledge at Barcaldine following the Great Shearers' Strike.[24] TheState Library of Queensland now holds the manifesto;[25][26] in 2008 the historic document was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Australian Register[27] and, in 2009, the document was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register.[28] TheBalmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia. However, the Scone Branch has a receipt for membership fees for the Labour Electoral League dated April 1891. This predates the Balmain claim. This can be attested in the Centenary of the ALP book.[citation needed] Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 inNew South Wales andSouth Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.
The first election contested by Labour candidates was the1891 New South Wales election, when Labour candidates (then called the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales) won 35 of 141 seats. The major parties were theProtectionist andFree Trade parties and Labour held thebalance of power. It offered parliamentary support in exchange for policy concessions.[29] TheUnited Labor Party (ULP) of South Australia was founded in 1891, and three candidates were that year elected to theSouth Australian Legislative Council.[30] The first successfulSouth Australian House of Assembly candidate wasJohn McPherson at the1892 East Adelaide by-election.Richard Hooper however was elected as an Independent Labor candidate at the1891 Wallaroo by-election, while he was the first labor member of the House of Assembly he was not a member of the newly formed ULP.
At the1893 South Australian elections, the ULP was immediately elevated to balance of power status with 10 of 54 lower house seats. The liberal government ofCharles Kingston was formed with the support of the ULP, ousting the conservative government ofJohn Downer. So successful, less than a decade later at the1905 state election,Thomas Price formed the world's first stable Labor government.John Verran led Labor to form the state's first of manymajority governments at the1910 state election.
In 1899,Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government inQueensland, the first in the world, which lasted one week while theconservatives regrouped after a split.
The colonial Labour parties and the trade unions were mixed in their support for theFederation of Australia. Some Labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming that the Senate as proposed was too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist colonial upper houses and theBritish House of Lords. They feared that federation would further entrench the power of the conservative forces. However, the first Labour leader and Prime MinisterChris Watson was a supporter of federation.
Historian Celia Hamilton, examining New South Wales, argues for the central role of Irish Catholics. Before 1890, they opposed Henry Parkes, the main Liberal leader, and of free trade, seeing them both as the ideals of Protestant Englishmen who represented landholding and large business interests. In the strike of 1890 the leading Catholic, Sydney's ArchbishopFrancis Moran was sympathetic toward unions, but Catholic newspapers were negative. After 1900, says Hamilton, Irish Catholics were drawn to the Labour Party because its stress on equality and social welfare fitted with their status as manual labourers and small farmers. In the 1910 elections Labour gained in the more Catholic areas and the representation of Catholics increased in Labour's parliamentary ranks.[31]
Thefederal parliament in 1901 was contested by each state Labour Party. In total, they won 15 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, collectively holding the balance of power, and the Labour members now met as the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (informally known as thecaucus) on 8 May 1901 atParliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first federal Parliament.[32] The caucus decided to support the incumbentProtectionist Party inminority government, while theFree Trade Party formed theopposition. It was some years before there was any significant structure or organisation at a national level. Labour underChris Watson doubled its vote at the1903 federal election and continued to hold the balance of power. In April 1904, however, Watson andAlfred Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of industrial relations laws concerning theConciliation andArbitration bill to cover state public servants, the fallout causing Deakin to resign. Free Trade leaderGeorge Reid declined to take office, which saw Watson become the first LabourPrime Minister of Australia, and the world's first Labour head of government at a national level (Anderson Dawson had led a short-lived Labour government in Queensland in December 1899), though his was aminority government that lasted only four months. He was aged only 37, and is still the youngest prime minister in Australia's history.[33]
George Reid of theFree Trade Party adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs. non-Labour lines prior to the1906 federal election and renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with theProtectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in theWestminster tradition and regarded atwo-party system as very much the norm.[34]
Although Watson led the party to a plurality victory (though not government, thanks to theunion of Free Traders and Protectionists) in1906, he stepped down from the leadership the following year, to be succeeded byAndrew Fisher's minority government for seven months until it fell in June 1909. At the1910 federal election, Fisher led Labor to victory, forming Australia's first elected federalmajority government, Australia's first electedSenate majority, the world's firstLabour Party majority government at a national level, and after the 1904Chris Watson minority government the world's second Labour Party government at a national level. It was the first time a Labour Party had controlled any house of a legislature, and the first time the party controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature.[35] The state branches were also successful, except inVictoria, where the strength ofDeakinite liberalism inhibited the party's growth. The state branches formed their first majority governments inNew South Wales andSouth Australia in 1910,Western Australia in 1911,Queensland in 1915 andTasmania in 1925. Such success eluded the other Commonwealth Labour parties for another decade; theLabour Party in Great Britain would not form even a minority government until1929, and would have to wait anothersixteen years to win a majority in its own right. Even in neighboringNew Zealand, Labour would not take power until1935. In Canada, anational labour party was not evenformed until 1932 and never formed government.
Analysis of the early NSW Labor caucus reveals "a band of unhappy amateurs",[This quote needs a citation] made up of blue collar workers, a squatter, a doctor, and even a mine owner, indicating that the idea that only the socialist working class formed Labor is untrue. In addition, many members from the working class supported the liberal notion of free trade between the colonies; in the first grouping of state MPs, 17 of the 35 were free-traders.
In the aftermath ofWorld War I and theRussian Revolution of 1917, support for socialism grew in trade union ranks, and at the 1921 All-Australian Trades Union Congress a resolution was passed calling for "the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange".[This quote needs a citation] The 1922Labor Party National Conference adopted a similarly worded socialist objective which remained official policy for many years. The resolution was immediately qualified, however, by theBlackburn amendment, which said that "socialisation" was desirable only when was necessary to "eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features".[36] Only once has a federal Labor government attempted to nationalise any industry (Ben Chifley's bank nationalisation of 1947), and that was held by theHigh Court to be unconstitutional. The commitment to nationalisation was dropped byGough Whitlam, andBob Hawke's government carried out the floating of the dollar.[citation needed]Privatisation of state enterprises such asQantas airways and theCommonwealth Bank was carried out by thePaul Keating government.[37]
The Labor Party is commonly described[by whom?] as asocial democratic party, and its constitution stipulates that it is ademocratic socialist party.[38] The party was created by, and has always been influenced by, the trade unions, and in practice its policy at any given time has usually been the policy of the broader labour movement. Thus at the first federal election 1901 Labor's platform called for aWhite Australia policy, a citizen army and compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes.[39] Labor has at various times supported hightariffs and low tariffs,conscription andpacifism, White Australia andmulticulturalism,nationalisation andprivatisation,isolationism and internationalism.
From 1900 to 1940, Labor and its affiliated unions were strong defenders of theWhite Australia policy, which banned all non-European migration to Australia. This policy was motivated by fears of economic competition from low-wage overseas workers which was shared by the vast majority of Australians and all major political parties.[citation needed] In practice the Labor party opposed all migration, on the grounds that immigrants competed with Australian workers and drove down wages, until afterWorld War II, when theChifley government launched a major immigration program. The party's opposition to non-European immigration did not change until after the retirement ofArthur Calwell as leader in 1967. Subsequently, Labor has become an advocate ofmulticulturalism.
TheCurtin andChifley governments governed Australia through the latter half of theSecond World War and initial stages of transition to peace. Labor leaderJohn Curtin became prime minister in October 1941 when two independents crossed the floor of Parliament. Labor, led by Curtin, then led Australia through the years of thePacific War. In December 1941, Curtin announced that "Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom", thus helping to establish the Australian-American alliance (later formalised asANZUS by theMenzies government). Remembered as a strong war time leader and for a landslide win at the1943 federal election, Curtin died in office just prior to the end of the war and was succeeded byBen Chifley.[40] Chifley Labor won the1946 federal election and oversaw Australia's initial transition to a peacetime economy.
At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifley sought to define the labour movement as follows: "We have a great objective –the light on the hill – which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind. ... [Labor would] bring something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people."[41] To a large extent, Chifley saw centralisation of the economy as the means to achieve such ambitions. With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and a strike by the Communist-dominatedMiners' Federation, Chifley lost office at the1949 federal election toRobert Menzies' Liberal-National Coalition. Labor commenced a 23-year period in opposition.[42][43] The party was primarily led during this time byH. V. Evatt andArthur Calwell.
In 1955, the Australian Labor Party split, and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was formed. The preferences of the DLP were used to keep the ALP in Opposition until the election of Gough Whitlam in 1972.[44][45][46]
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Various ideological beliefs were factionalised under reforms to the ALP underGough Whitlam, resulting in what is now known as theSocialist Left who tend to favour a more interventionist economic policy and moresocially progressive ideals, andLabor Right, the now dominant faction that tends to be moreeconomically liberal and focus to a lesser extent on social issues. The Whitlam Labor government, marking a break with Labor's socialist tradition, pursuedsocial democratic policies rather thandemocratic socialist policies. In contrast to earlier Labor leaders, Whitlam also cuttariffs by 25 percent.[47] Whitlam led the Federal Labor Party back to office at the1972 and1974 federal elections, and passed a large amount of legislation. TheWhitlam government lost office following the1975 Australian constitutional crisis and dismissal byGovernor-GeneralJohn Kerr after the Coalition blockedsupply in the Senate after a series of political scandals, and was defeated at the1975 federal election in the largest landslide of Australian federal history.[48] Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner. Whitlam also lost the1977 federal election and subsequently resigned as leader.
Bill Hayden succeeded Whitlam as leader. At the1980 federal election, the party achieved a big swing, though the unevenness of the swing around the nation prevented an ALP victory. In 1983,Bob Hawke became leader of the party after Hayden resigned to avoid a leadership spill.
Bob Hawke led Labor back to office at the1983 federal election and the party won four consecutive elections under Hawke. In December 1991Paul Keating defeated Bob Hawke in a leadership spill. The ALP then won the1993 federal election. It was in power for five terms over 13 years, until severely defeated byJohn Howard at the1996 federal election. This was the longest period the party has ever been in government at the national level.
Kim Beazley led the party to the1998 federal election, winning 51 percent of thetwo-party-preferred vote but falling short on seats, and the ALP lost ground at the2001 federal election. After a brief period whenSimon Crean served as ALP leader,Mark Latham led Labor to the2004 federal election but lost further ground. Beazley replaced Latham in 2005; not long afterwards he in turn was forced out of the leadership byKevin Rudd.
Rudd went on to defeat John Howard at the2007 federal election with 52.7 percent of the two-party vote (Howard became the first prime minister sinceStanley Bruce to lose not just the election but his own parliamentary seat). TheRudd government ended prior to the2010 federal election with the overthrow of Rudd as leader of the party by deputy leaderJulia Gillard. Gillard, who was also the first woman to serve as prime minister of Australia,[49] remained prime minister in ahung parliament following the election. Her government lasted until 2013, when Gillard lost a leadership spill, with Rudd becoming leader once again. Later that year the ALP lost the2013 federal election.
Between the 2007 federal election and the2008 Western Australian state election, Labor was in government nationally and in all eight state and territory parliaments. This was the first time any single party or any coalition had achieved this since the ACT and the NT gained self-government.[53] Labor narrowly lost government in Western Australia at the 2008 state election and Victoria at the2010 state election. These losses were further compounded by landslide defeats in New South Wales in2011, Queensland in2012, the Northern Territory in2012, Federally in2013 and Tasmania in2014.[54] Labor retained government in the Australian Capital Territory in2012 and, despite losing its majority, the party retained government in South Australia in2014.[55]
However, most of these reversals proved only temporary with Labor returning to government in Victoria in2014 and in Queensland in2015 after spending only one term in opposition in both states.[56] Furthermore, after winning the2014 Fisher by-election by nine votes from a 7.3 percent swing, the Labor government in South Australia went from minority to majority government.[57] Labor won landslide victories in the2016 Northern Territory election, the2017 Western Australian election and the2018 Victorian state election. However, Labor lost the2018 South Australian state election after 16 years in government.
After Labor's 2013 federal election defeat,Bill Shorten became leader of the party. The party narrowly lost the2016 election, yet gained 14 seats. Despite favourable polling, the party also did not return to government in the2019 New South Wales state election or the2019 federal election. The latter has been considered a historic upset due to Labor's consistent and significant polling lead; the result has been likened to the Coalition's loss in the 1993 federal election, with 2019 retrospectively referred to in the media as the "unloseable election".[58][59] After the 2019 defeat, Shorten resigned from the leadership, though he remained in parliament.Anthony Albanese was elected as leader unopposed.
In March 2022, Labor returned to government in South Australia after defeating the Liberal Party in the2022 South Australian state election.
Anthony Albanese led the party into the2022 Australian federal election, in which the party returned to power with a majority government. Despite Labor's win, Labor nevertheless recorded its lowest primary vote since either1903 or1934, depending on whether theLang Labor vote is included.[60]
In 2023, Labor won the March2023 New South Wales state election returning to government for the first time since 2011. This victory marked the first time in 15 years that Labor were in government in all mainland states. In 2024, Labor lost in a landslide in the2024 Northern Territory election, losing its first mainland state or territory since the2018 South Australian election. Labor would also lose in the2024 Queensland state election.
Albanese later led the party into the2025 Australian federal election, in which the party once again won a majority government in a landslide.
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The policy of the Australian Labor Party is contained in its National Platform, which is approved by delegates to Labor's National Conference, held every three years. According to the Labor Party's website, "The Platform is the result of a rigorous and constructive process of consultation, spanning the nation and including the cooperation and input of state and territory policy committees, local branches, unions, state and territory governments, and individual Party members. The Platform provides the policy foundation from which we can continue to work towards the election of a federal Labor government."[61]
The platform gives a general indication of the policy direction which a future Labor government would follow, but does not commit the party to specific policies. It maintains that "Labor's traditional values will remain a constant on which all Australians can rely." While making it clear that Labor is fully committed to a market economy, it says that: "Labor believes in a strong role for national government – the one institution all Australians truly own and control through our right to vote." Labor "will not allow the benefits of change to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, or located only in privileged communities. The benefits must be shared by all Australians and all our regions." The platform and Labor "believe that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential." For Labor, "government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by: ensuring equal opportunity; removing unjustifiable discrimination; and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status." Further sections of the platform stress Labor's support for equality and human rights, labour rights and democracy.
In practice, the platform provides only general policy guidelines to Labor's federal, state and territory parliamentary leaderships. The policy Labor takes into an election campaign is determined by the Cabinet (if the party is in office) or the Shadow Cabinet (if it is in opposition), in consultation with key interest groups within the party, and is contained in the parliamentary Leader's policy speech delivered during the election campaign. When Labor is in office, the policies it implements are determined by the Cabinet, subject to the platform. Generally, it is accepted that while the platform binds Labor governments, how and when it is implemented remains the prerogative of the parliamentary caucus. It is now rare for the platform to conflict with government policy, as the content of the platform is usually developed in close collaboration with the party's parliamentary leadership as well as the factions. However, where there is a direct contradiction with the platform, Labor governments have sought to change the platform as a prerequisite for a change in policy. For example, privatisation legislation under the Hawke government occurred only after holding a special national conference to debate changing the platform.
TheAustralian Labor Party National Executive is the party's chief administrative authority, subject only to Labor'snational conference. The executive is responsible for organising the triennial national conference; carrying out the decisions of the conference; interpreting the national constitution, the national platform and decisions of the national conference; and directing federal members.[62]
The party holds a national conference every three years, which consists of delegates representing the state and territory branches (many coming from affiliated trade unions, although there is no formal requirement for unions to be represented at the national conference). The national conference decides the party's platform, elects the national executive and appoints office-bearers such as the national secretary, who also serves as national campaign director during elections. The current national secretary isPaul Erickson.The head office of the ALP, the national secretariat, is managed by the national secretary. It plays a dual role of administration and a national campaign strategy. It acts as a permanent secretariat to the national executive by managing and assisting in all administrative affairs of the party. As the national secretary also serves as national campaign director during elections, it is also responsible for the national campaign strategy and organisation.
The elected members of the Labor party in both houses of the national Parliament meet as the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, also known as the Caucus (see alsocaucus).[63] Besides discussing parliamentary business and tactics, the Caucus also is involved in the election of the federal parliamentary leaders.
Until 2013, the parliamentary leaders were elected by the Caucus from among its members. The leader has historically been a member of the House of Representatives. Since October 2013, a ballot of both the Caucus and by the Labor Party's rank-and-file members determined the party leader and the deputy leader.[64] When the Labor Party is in government, the party leader is theprime minister and the deputy leader is thedeputy prime minister. If a Labor prime minister resigns or dies in office, the deputy leader acts as prime minister and party leader until a successor is elected. The deputy prime minister also acts as prime minister when the prime minister is on leave or out of the country. Members of the Ministry are also chosen by Caucus, though the leader may allocate portfolios to the ministers.
Anthony Albanese is the leader of the federal Labor party, serving since 30 May 2019. The deputy leader isRichard Marles, also serving since 30 May 2019.
The Australian Labor Party is a federal party, consisting of eight branches from each state and territory. While the National Executive is responsible for national campaign strategy, each state and territory are an autonomous branch and are responsible for campaigning in their own jurisdictions for federal, state and local elections. State and territory branches consist of both individual members andaffiliated trade unions, who between them decide the party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office.
Members join a state branch and pay a membership fee, which is graduated according to income. The majority oftrade unions in Australia are affiliated to the party at a state level. Union affiliation is direct and not through theAustralian Council of Trade Unions. Affiliated unions pay an affiliation fee based on the size of their membership. Union affiliation fees make up a large part of the party's income. Other sources of funds for the party includepolitical donations andpublic funding.
Members are generally expected to attend at least one meeting of their local branch each year, although there are differences in the rules from state to state. In practice, only a dedicated minority regularly attend meetings. Many members are only active during election campaigns.
The members and unions elect delegates to state and territory conferences (usually held annually, although more frequent conferences are often held). These conferences decide policy, and elect state or territory executives, a state or territory president (an honorary position usually held for a one-year term), and a state or territory secretary (a full-time professional position). However,ACT Labor directly elects its president. The larger branches also have full-time assistant secretaries and organisers. In the past the ratio of conference delegates coming from the branches and affiliated unions has varied from state to state, however under recent national reforms at least 50% of delegates at all state and territory conferences must be elected by branches.
In some states, the party also contests local government elections or endorses local candidates. In others it does not, preferring to allow its members to run as non-endorsed candidates. The process of choosing candidates is calledpreselection. Candidates are preselected by different methods in the various states and territories. In some they are chosen by ballots of all party members, in others by panels or committees elected by the state conference, in still others by a combination of these two.
The state and territory Labor branches are the following:
| Branch | Leader | Last state/territory election | Status | Federal representatives | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower house | Upper house | MPs | Senators | ||||||||
| Year | Votes (%) | Seats | TPP (%) | Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||
| New South Wales Labor | Chris Minns (since2021) | 2023 | 37.1 | 45 / 93 | 54.3 | 37.1 | 15 / 42 | Minority | 28 / 46 | 4 / 12 | |
| Victorian Labor | Jacinta Allan (since2023) | 2022 | 36.7 | 56 / 88 | 55.0 | 33.0 | 15 / 40 | Majority | 27 / 38 | 5 / 12 | |
| Queensland Labor | Steven Miles (since2023) | 2024 | 32.6 | 36 / 93 | 46.2 | —[c] | Opposition | 12 / 30 | 4 / 12 | ||
| Western Australian Labor | Roger Cook (since2023) | 2025 | 41.4 | 46 / 59 | 57.1 | 40.9 | 16 / 36 | Majority | 11 / 16 | 5 / 12 | |
| South Australian Labor | Peter Malinauskas (since 2018) | 2022 | 40.0 | 27 / 47 | 54.6 | 37.0 | 9 / 22 | Majority | 7 / 10 | 5 / 12 | |
| Tasmanian Labor | Dean Winter (since2024) | 2024 | 29.0 | 10 / 35 | —[d] | —[e] | 3 / 15 | Opposition | 4 / 5 | 4 / 12 | |
| ACT Labor | Andrew Barr | 2024 | 34.5 | 10 / 25 | —[f] | —[g] | Minority | 3 / 3 | 1 / 2 | ||
| Territory Labor | Selena Uibo (since2024) | 2024 | 28.7 | 4 / 25 | 42.0 | —[h] | Opposition | 2 / 2 | 1 / 2 | ||
TheCountry Labor Party, commonly known asCountry Labor, was an affiliated organisation of the Labor Party. Although not expressly defined, Country Labor operated mainly withinrural New South Wales, and was mainly seen as an extension of theNew South Wales branch that operates in rural electorates.
Country Labor was used as a designation by candidates contesting elections in rural areas. The Country Labor Party was registered as a separate party inNew South Wales,[65] and was also registered with theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC) for federal elections.[66] It did not have the same status in other states and, consequently, that designation could not be used on the ballot paper.
The creation of a separation designation for rural candidates was first suggested at the June 1999 ALP state conference in New South Wales. In May 2000, following Labor's success at the2000 Benalla by-election in Victoria,Kim Beazley announced that the ALP intended to register a separate "Country Labor Party" with the AEC;[67] this occurred in October 2000.[66] The Country Labor designation was most frequently used in New South Wales. According to the ALP's financial statements for the 2015–16 financial year, NSW Country Labor had around 2,600 members (around 17 percent of the party total), but almost no assets. It recorded a severe funding shortfall at the2015 New South Wales election, and had to rely on a $1.68-million loan from the party proper to remain solvent. It had been initially assumed that the party proper could provide the money from its own resources, but the NSW Electoral Commission ruled that this was impermissible because the parties were registered separately. Instead the party proper had to loan Country Labor the required funds at a commercial interest rate.[68]
The Country Labor Party was de-registered by the New South Wales Electoral Commission in 2021.[69]
Australian Young Labor is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party, where all members under age 26 are automatically members. It is the peak youth body within the ALP. Former presidents of AYL have included former NSW PremierBob Carr, FederalLeader of the HouseTony Burke, former Special Minister of State Senator John Faulkner, former Australian Workers Union National Secretary, former Member for Maribyrnong and former Federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten, as well as dozens of State Ministers and MPs. The current National President is Manu Risoldi.
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The Australian Labor Party (ALP) includes a variety of networks and associations that connect members, advocate for issues, and contribute to the party's policy development. The national platform currently mandates or encourages state branches to formally establish these groups along with calling for generalised interest groups known as policy action caucuses.[70] Examples of such groups include the Labor Environment Action Network,[71] theLGBTQ wing Rainbow Labor,[72][73] Labor For Choice, thewomen's wing Labor Women's Network,[74] Labor for Drug Law Reform[75] Labor for Refugees,[76] Labor for Housing,[77] Labor Teachers Network,[78] Aboriginal Labor Network,[79] and recently, Labor Enabled – the action group for Disability Advocacy[80]
These groups operate under different names across states and territories and are categorized intoequity groups, which focus on representation based on identity or shared characteristics, andpolicy-focused groups, which emphasize thematic advocacy. In Queensland, these networks are formally referred to asEquity Groups andAssociations, which are distinct entities.[81] Other states use terms such as forums, caucuses, or committees.
| Organisation | Branches Organisation is Present in | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal | NSW | QLD | Vic | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | |
| National Labor Women's Network |  [82] | [83] | [84] | [85] | [86] | [87] | [88] | [89] | [90] |
| Rainbow Labor | [91] | | [84] | [85] | | | [92] | |  |
| Aboriginal Labor Network | [91] | [83] | [84] | [85] | | [87] | [88] | [89] | [90] |
| Labor Enabled | | | [84] | [85] | | | [92] | | |
| Young Labor | [82] | [83] | [84] | [85] | [86] | [87] | [88] | [89] | [90] |
| Multicultural Labor | | | [84] | [93] | [86] | | | | |
| Regional Labor / Country Labor | [82] | [83] | [84] | [85] | [86] | [87] | [92] | | |
| Organisation | Branches Organisation is Present in | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) | NSW,QLD,Vic,WA,SA,Tas,ACT,NT | [94][95][85][92] |
| Labor for Drug Law Reform | | |
| Labor For Choice | QLD(Retired),Tas, | [92] |
| Labor for Housing | QLD, | [94] |
| Labor Teachers Network | QLD, | [94] |
| Business with Labor | QLD, | [94] |
| Labor for Brisbane City Council | QLD | [94] |
| Australian Israel Labor Dialogue | QLD,NSW, | [94][95] |
| Labor for the Future | QLD | [94] |
| Labor for Decriminalisation | QLD | |
| Labor for Refugees | QLD,Vic, | [94][85] |
| Labor Friends of Palestine | QLD,NSW, | [94][95] |
| Labor Friends of Palestine | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor Ending Homelessness Action Committee | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor for the Arts (L4TA) | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor for Innovation | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor for Treaty | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor Science Network | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor Action for Multiculturalism Policy (LAMP) | NSW, | [95] |
| Labor for An Australian Republic (LFAR) | Vic, | [85] |
| Labor for the Wise Use of Resources | Tas, | [92] |
| Tasmanian Labor Affiliated Unions Policy Action Caucus | Tas, | [92] |
| Labor for the Wise Use of Resources | Tas, | [92] |
| Local Government PAC | Tas, | [92] |
| Labor for Civil & Political Rights Policy Action Caucus | Tas, | [92] |
Labor's constitution has long stated: "The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democraticsocialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields".[62] This "socialist objective" was introduced in 1921, but was later qualified by two further objectives: "maintenance of and support for a competitive non-monopolistic private sector" and "the right to own private property". Labor governments have not attempted the "democratic socialisation" of any industry since the 1940s, when theChifley government failed to nationalise the private banks, and in fact haveprivatised several industries such as aviation and banking.[96][97][98][99]
Parliamentary caucus seats[100] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Labor Left | 61 / 123 |
| Labor Right | 60 / 123 |
| Unaligned | 2 / 123 |
The Labor Party has always had a left wing and a right wing; however, since 1989, it has been organised into formal factions.[101]
The two largest factional groupings are theLabor Left, who are supportive ofdemocratic socialist ideals, and theLabor Right who generally supportsocial democratic traditions. The national factional groupings are themselves divided into formal factions, primarily state-based such as Centre Unity in New South Wales and Labor Forum in Queensland.[101]
Some trade unions are affiliated with the Labor Party and are also factionally aligned. Important unions supporting the right faction are theAustralian Workers' Union (AWU), theShop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and theTransport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU).[102] Important unions supporting the left include theAustralian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU),United Workers Union, theConstruction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and theCommunity and Public Sector Union (CPSU).[102]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | ± | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | None | 79,736 | 15.8 | 14 / 75 |  14 | 3rd | External support |
| 1903 | Chris Watson | 223,163 | 31.0 | 22 / 75 | 7 |  3rd | Support (1903–04) |
| Minority (1904) | |||||||
| Opposition (1904–05) | |||||||
| Support (1905–06) | |||||||
| 1906 | 348,711 | 36.6 | 26 / 75 | 4 | 1st | Support (1906–08) | |
| Minority (1908–09) | |||||||
| Opposition (1909–10) | |||||||
| 1910 | Andrew Fisher | 660,864 | 50.0 | 42 / 75 | 16 | 1st | Majority |
| 1913 | 921,099 | 48.5 | 37 / 75 |  5 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1914 | 858,451 | 50.9 | 42 / 75 | 5 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1917 | Frank Tudor | 827,541 | 43.9 | 22 / 75 | 20 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1919 | 811,244 | 42.5 | 26 / 75 | 4 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1922 | Matthew Charlton | 665,145 | 42.3 | 29 / 75 | 3 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1925 | 1,313,627 | 45.0 | 23 / 75 | 6 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1928 | James Scullin | 1,158,505 | 44.6 | 31 / 75 | 8 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1929 | 1,406,327 | 48.8 | 46 / 75 | 15 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1931 | 859,513 | 27.1 | 14 / 75 | 32 | 3rd | Opposition | |
| 1934 | 952,251 | 26.8 | 18 / 74 | 4 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1937 | John Curtin | 1,555,737 | 43.2 | 29 / 74 | 11 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1940 | 1,556,941 | 40.2 | 32 / 74 | 3 | 1st | Opposition (1940–41) | |
| Minority (1941–43) | |||||||
| 1943 | 2,058,578 | 49.9 | 49 / 74 | 17 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1946 | Ben Chifley | 2,159,953 | 49.7 | 43 / 75 | 6 | 1st | Majority |
| 1949 | 2,117,088 | 46.0 | 47 / 121 | 4 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1951 | 2,174,840 | 47.6 | 52 / 121 | 5 | 1st | Opposition | |
| 1954 | H. V. Evatt | 2,280,098 | 50.0 | 57 / 121 | 5 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1955 | 1,961,829 | 44.6 | 47 / 122 | 10 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1958 | 2,137,890 | 42.8 | 45 / 122 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1961 | Arthur Calwell | 2,512,929 | 47.9 | 60 / 122 | 15 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1963 | 2,489,184 | 45.5 | 50 / 122 | 10 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1966 | 2,282,834 | 40.0 | 41 / 124 | 9 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1969 | Gough Whitlam | 2,870,792 | 47.0 | 59 / 125 | 18 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1972 | 3,273,549 | 49.6 | 67 / 125 | 8 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1974 | 3,644,110 | 49.3 | 66 / 127 | 1 | 1st | Majority (1974–75)[i] | |
| Opposition (1975) | |||||||
| 1975 | 3,313,004 | 42.8 | 36 / 127 | 30 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1977 | 3,141,051 | 39.7 | 38 / 124 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1980 | Bill Hayden | 3,749,565 | 45.2 | 51 / 125 | 13 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1983 | Bob Hawke | 4,297,392 | 49.5 | 75 / 125 | 24 | 1st | Majority |
| 1984 | 4,120,130 | 47.6 | 82 / 148 | 7 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1987 | 4,222,431 | 45.8 | 86 / 148 | 4 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1990 | 3,904,138 | 39.4 | 78 / 148 | 8 | 1st | Majority | |
| 1993 | Paul Keating | 4,751,390 | 44.9 | 80 / 147 | 2 | 1st | Majority |
| 1996 | 4,217,765 | 38.7 | 49 / 148 | 31 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1998 | Kim Beazley | 4,454,306 | 40.1 | 67 / 148 | 18 | 1st | Opposition |
| 2001 | 4,341,420 | 37.8 | 65 / 150 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2004 | Mark Latham | 4,408,820 | 37.6 | 60 / 150 | 5 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2007 | Kevin Rudd | 5,388,184 | 43.4 | 83 / 150 | 23 | 1st | Majority |
| 2010 | Julia Gillard | 4,711,363 | 38.0 | 72 / 150 | 11 | 1st | Minority |
| 2013 | Kevin Rudd | 4,311,365 | 33.4 | 55 / 150 | 17 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2016 | Bill Shorten | 4,702,296 | 34.7 | 69 / 150 | 14 | 1st | Opposition |
| 2019 | 4,752,110 | 33.3 | 68 / 151 | 1 | 1st | Opposition | |
| 2022 | Anthony Albanese | 4,776,030 | 32.6 | 77 / 151 | 9 | 1st | Majority |
| 2025 | 5,354,138 | 34.6 | 94 / 150 | 17 | 1st | Majority |
In 2023/24, state and federal branches of Labor reported $67.5 million in donations. Labor's largest donation was $1m fromAnthony Pratt. Other large donors were unions and gambling companies.[103]
The Labor Party also receives undisclosed funding through several methods, such as "associated entities".John Curtin House, Industry 2020, IR21 and the Happy Wanderers Club are entities which have been used to funnel donations to the Labor Party without disclosing the source.[104][105][106][107]
A 2019 report found that the Labor Party received $33,000 from pro-gun groups during the 2011–2018 periods compared to $82,000 received by the Coalition.[108]
The Commonwealth conference of the party adopted the spelling 'Labor' in the official title of the Labor Party, but the parliamentary debates did not follow suit. Thereafter the debates recorded the same proceedings with different spellings, and it was many years before the spelling 'Labor' was accepted officially or used consistently in print.
This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromCharles Seymour Papers 1880–1924: Treasure collection of the John Oxley Library (8 November 2021) published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 2 June 2022.The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields.
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