2026 Stafford state by-election

A state by-election for the seat of Stafford in the Queensland Legislative Assembly was held on 16 May 2026, following the death of independent MP Jimmy Sullivan on 9 April 2026. The seat was won by Queensland Labor Party candidate Luke Richmond, who held the seat for the party despite conceding a swing of approximately 4% on the two-party preferred vote.

Background Incumbent member of parliament Sullivan had served as the member for Stafford since retaining the seat for the Labor Party at the 2020 state election. He held the seat at the 2024 state election despite suffering a 6.6% swing against him on the two-party-preferred vote (TPP). Shortly thereafter Sullivan was investigated by the Queensland Police Service over an alleged domestic incident, and in May 2025 he was expelled from the Labor Party caucus due to failing to adhere to "a safe return to work plan" as described by party leader Steven Miles, and as domestic allegations were levelled against Sullivan. He served the remainder of his term as an independent MP on the crossbench, and died in office on 9 April 2026, with his death treated as "not suspicious" by police who discovered his body in his home.

Seat details The district or seat of Stafford is located in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, and incorporates the suburbs of Stafford, Gordon Park, Grange, Kedron, Stafford Heights, and parts of Chermside, Chermside West, McDowall, Alderley, Wilston, Newmarket and Windsor. Since its reincarnation as a seat in 2001, Stafford has usually been a fairly safe seat for the centre-left Labor Party, which has won the seat at every election with at least 55% of the TPP vote, with the exception of the landslide 2012 state election won by the centre-right to right-wing Liberal National Party (LNP). Labor and the LNP had always finished in the top two positions on the primary vote in the seat, and the Greens regularly registered primary votes of around 17%.

2024 election results

Key dates Key dates in relation to the by-election are: 17 April 2026: Issue of the writ 21 April 2026: Close of electoral roll 24 April 2026: Close of candidate nominations 5 May 2026: Early voting commences 16 May 2026: Polling day 9 July 2026: Last day for the return of the writ

Candidates

Candidates are listed in ballot order.

Party Candidate Background Labor Luke Richmond Assistant secretary of Queensland Labor. Legalise Cannabis Jacqueline Verne Medicinal cannabis patient. Independent People First Damian Smart Libertarian Daniel Selff Mathematics teacher. Independent Socialist Liam ParryActivist and University of Queensland student. Greens Jess Lane School teacher and third-placing candidate at the 2024 election. Animal Justice Lucy O'Brien Kindergarten Director & Teacher. Family First Alan Denaro Small business owner, and fifth-placing candidate at the 2024 election. Liberal National Fiona Hammond Former councillor and second-placing candidate at the 2024 election.

The Labor candidate for Stafford was the party's assistant state secretary, Luke Richmond. The Liberal candidate is Fiona Hammond, a former councillor who contested the seat at the 2024 state election. Liam Parry stood for the Queensland Socialists. Damian Smart contested the election on behalf of Gerard Rennick People First. Both Queensland Socialists and People First lacked state-registered party recognition, and thus nominated their candidates as independents. Jess Lane, a school teacher endorsed by the Queensland Greens who stood for the seat at the 2024 state election, again contested the seat.

The One Nation party did not run a candidate, despite polling highly in national polls and at several recent elections, including the Farrer federal by-election, Nepean state by-election and South Australian state election. Party officials stated they intended to focus their efforts on the 2028 state election.

Results

2026 Stafford state by-election

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