Aby-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Curtin on 21 February 1981. This was triggered by the resignation of LiberalMPVictor Garland in order to be appointed High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom. It was held on the same day as by-elections for Boothby and McPherson.
The by-election was won by Liberal Allan Rocher, who had resigned from the Senate to contest it.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 22 January 1981 | Hon Victor Garland resigned from Parliament.[1] |
| 27 January 1981 | The writ for the by-election was issued.[2] |
| 11 February 1981 | Close of nominations. |
| 21 February 1981 | Polling day.[3] |
| 4 March 1981 | The writ was returned and Allan Rocher was sworn in as the member for Curtin.[4] |
| 27 March 1981 | The original deadline for the writ to be returned.[2] |
| 24 April 1981 | Garland arrived in London to commence his duties as High Commissioner of Australia.[5] |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Allan Rocher | 22,951 | 47.04 | −11.88 | |
| Labor | John Crouch | 15,644 | 32.06 | −0.72 | |
| Democrats | Shirley de la Hunty | 8,356 | 17.13 | +8.83 | |
| Independent | Alfred Bussell | 1,843 | 3.78 | +3.78 | |
| Total formal votes | 48,794 | 96.70 | –1.15 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,664 | 3.30 | +1.15 | ||
| Turnout | 50,458 | 78.21 | –14.83 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Allan Rocher | 27,062 | 55.46 | −6.8 | |
| Labor | John Crouch | 21,732 | 44.54 | +6.8 | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | -6.8 | |||
