Federal · Farrer by-election, 9 May 2026

Farrer by-election: result and public funding

At the May 2026 Farrer by-election, One Nation won a seat the Coalition had held since 1949. Its public funding from the electorate rose from $23,035 at the 2025 federal election to $140,107 at the by-election.

Scroll for the result and the funding.

§ 1Before: 2025

Farrer in 2025

Farrer is a federal seat on the New South Wales–Victoria border. At the May 2025 election the Coalition held it with 43.4% of the first-preference vote and 56.2% two-candidate-preferred. It had held the seat since 1949.

One Nation came fourth, on 6.6% of the primary vote.

§ 2After: the by-election

The 2026 by-election

Sussan Ley resigned in February 2026 after losing the Liberal leadership. At the 9 May by-election the Liberal and National candidates together took 22.2% of the primary vote and did not reach the final two.

One Nation’s David Farley took 39.5% of the primary (up from 6.6%) and won the seat 57.5% to 42.5% against an independent. It was One Nation’s first seat won at a House election. Labor did not contest.

§ 3The money

Public funding

The by-election was held before the new funding laws begin (1 January 2027), so it was paid under the old regime, at $3.499 a vote — the 2025 rate, lifted slightly by routine half-yearly indexation. One Nation’s public funding from the seat rose from $23,035 in 2025 to $140,107 at the by-election — about 6.1 times as much, almost all of it the rise in its vote.

This $140,107 is a separate one-off payment, not part of the 2025 general-election funding or the seat’s administrative funding. It is counted once, within One Nation’s federal total. See the federal page.