Abbreviations used to denote parties referred to in the divisional profiles, some of these parties no longer exist.
| Abbreviation | Party |
|---|---|
| ACP | Australian Conservative Party |
| ALP | Australian Labor Party |
| ANTI-SOC | Anti-Socialist Party |
| ASP | Australian Shooters Party |
| CLP | Northern Territory Country Liberal Party |
| CP | Australian Country Party |
| DEM | Australian Democrats |
| FLP | Federal Labor Party |
| FSU | Farmers and Settlers Union |
| FT | Free Trade |
| FU | Farmers' Union |
| GRN | Australian Greens |
| IND | Independent |
| IND LAB | Independent Labor |
| IND NAT | Independent Nationalist |
| IND PROT | Independent Protectionist |
| LANG LAB | Lang Labor Party |
| LCL | Liberal Country League |
| LCP | Liberal Country Party |
| LIB | Liberal Party (pre 1945) |
| LNQ | Liberal National Party of Queensland |
| LP | Liberal Party of Australia (formed in 1946) |
| NAT | Nationalist Party |
| NAT & FARMERS | Nationalist and Farmers |
| NCP | National Country Party |
| NP | National Party of Australia |
| OTHERS | Other parties, may include Independents |
| PROT | Protectionist Party |
| ST CP | State Country Party |
| UAP | United Australia Party |
| UCP | United Country Party |
| VFU | Victorian Farmers' Union |
| WAP | Western Australia Party |
Demographic classification of divisions is based on the following criteria:
Seat status is generally based on the two-party-preferred results of the last election. However, in seats where Labor and the Coalition were not the final two candidates, the seat status is based on the two-candidate-preferred result (e.g. marginal independent). The two-party-preferred figure refers to the number of votes received by the Labor and Coalition candidates after a full distribution of preferences.
The two-candidate-preferred figure refers to the number of votes received by independent and major party candidates after a full distribution of preferences. Where a winning candidate receives less than 56% of the vote, the seat is classified as 'marginal'; 56–60% is classified as 'fairly safe'; and more than 60% is considered 'safe'.