Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Ben Chifley was defeated by the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party led by Arthur Fadden. Menzies broke new ground in using the radio as his primary method of reaching voters.