<P> Scott Morrison Liberal / National coalition </P> <P> The next Australian federal election will elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia . The election will be called following the dissolution or expiry of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election . </P> <P> The next election must be held by 18 May 2019 for half of the Senators (from the states) and on or before 2 November 2019 for the House of Representatives and the Senators from the territories . The earliest possible date for a simultaneous House of Representatives and half - Senate election was 4 August 2018 . </P> <P> Australia has compulsory voting; it uses full - preference instant - runoff voting in single member seats for the lower house, the House of Representatives (currently 150 seats, but will be 151 seats at the next election), and optional - preference single transferable voting in the proportionally represented upper house, the 76 - seat Senate . </P>

When must the next federal election be held
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