| Election Name: | 1937 Australian federal election |
| Country: | Australia |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1934 Australian federal election |
| Previous Year: | 1934 |
| Next Election: | 1940 Australian federal election |
| Next Year: | 1940 |
| Outgoing Members: | Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1934–1937 |
| Elected Members: | Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1937–1940 |
| Registered: | 4,080,038 |
| Turnout: | 3,699,269 (96.13%) (0.96 pp) |
| Seats For Election: | All 75 seats of the House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House 19 (of the 36) seats of the Senate |
| Election Date: | 23 October 1937 |
| Leader1: | Joseph Lyons |
| Leader Since1: | 7 May 1931 |
| Party1: | UAP/Country coalition |
| Leaders Seat1: | Wilmot (Tas.) |
| Last Election1: | 42 seats |
| Seats1: | 43 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Percentage1: | 49.26% |
| Swing1: | 1.01 |
| 1Data1: | 50.60% |
| 2Data1: | 2.90 |
| Leader2: | John Curtin |
| Leader Since2: | 1 October 1935 |
| Party2: | Australian Labor Party |
| Leaders Seat2: | Fremantle (WA) |
| Last Election2: | 18 seats |
| Seats2: | 29 |
| Seat Change2: | 11 |
| Percentage2: | 43.17% |
| Swing2: | 16.36 |
| 1Data2: | 49.40% |
| 2Data2: | 2.90 |
| 1Blank: | TPP |
| 2Blank: | TPP swing |
| Prime Minister | |
| Before Election: | Joseph Lyons |
| Before Party: | UAP/Country coalition |
| Posttitle: | Subsequent Prime Minister |
| After Election: | Joseph Lyons |
| After Party: | UAP/Country coalition |
The 1937 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent UAP–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, defeated the opposition Labor Party under John Curtin.
The election is notable in that the Country Party achieved its highest-ever primary vote in the lower house, thereby winning nearly a quarter of all lower-house seats. At the 1934 election nine seats in New South Wales had been won by Lang Labor. Following the reunion of the two Labor parties in February 1936, these were held by their members as ALP seats at the 1937 election. With the party's wins in Ballaarat and Gwydir (initially at a by-election on 8 March 1937), the ALP had a net gain of 11 seats compared with the previous election.
This was the first federal election that future Prime Ministers Harold Holt and Arthur Fadden contested as members of parliament, having entered parliament at the 1935 Fawkner by-election and 1936 Darling Downs by-election respectively.
This was the first federal election under George VI who became head of state after his brother Edward VIII who abdicated in December the previous year.
See also: Results of the Australian federal election, 1937 (House of Representatives).
| Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAP–Country coalition | 1.774,805 | 49.26 | –1.01 | 43 | –4 | ||||
| United Australia | 1,214,526 | 33.71 | +0.73 | 28 | 0 | ||||
| Country | 560,279 | 15.55 | +2.93 | 15 | +1 | ||||
| Labor | 1,555,737 | 43.17 | +16.36 | 29 | +11 | ||||
| Social Credit | 79,432 | 2.20 | -2.49 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Communist | 17,153 | 0.48 | +0.48 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Independents | 176,214 | 4.89 | +2.38 | 3 | +2 | ||||
| Total | 3,603,223 | 75 | |||||||
| UAP–Country coalition | Win | 50.60 | −2.90 | 43 | +1 | ||||
| Labor | 49.40 | +2.90 | 29 | +11 | |||||
| Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 1,699,172 | 48.48 | +20.40 | 16 | 16 | +13 | |||
| UAP–Country coalition | 1,636,889 | 46.71 | –6.51 | 3 | 20 | –13 | |||
| UAP–Country joint ticket | 1,005,247 | 28.68 | +10.44 | 0 | N/A | N/A | |||
| United Australia | 565,161 | 16.13 | -4.54 | 3 | 16 | -10 | |||
| Country | 66,481 | 1.90 | -12.41 | 0 | 4 | -3 | |||
| Social Credit | 49,801 | 1.42 | -1.36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Independent | 118,768 | 3.39 | +2.93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 3,504,630 | 19 | 36 | ||||||
| Seat | Pre-1937 | Swing | Post-1937 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||||
| Ballaarat, Vic | United Australia | Archibald Fisken | 3.9 | 3.5 | 0.6 | Reg Pollard | Labor | ||||
| Bendigo, Vic | United Australia | Eric Harrison | N/A | 0.3 | 6.9 | George Rankin | Country | ||||
| Grey, SA | United Australia | Philip McBride | N/A | 2.9 | 7.1 | Oliver Badman | Country | ||||
| Warringah, NSW | United Australia | Archdale Parkhill | N/A | 29.4 | 1.9 | Percy Spender | Independent UAP | ||||
| Wimmera, Vic | Country | Hugh McClelland | N/A | 2.9 | 1.9 | Alexander Wilson | Independent | ||||