Gorton had served in the Senate from 1949 to 1968, before switching houses to represent the Victorian federal seat of Higgins until 1975.

The constituency of Gorton features a high proportion of young families and new suburban developments in the working-class outer western suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Burke had been held by the Australian Labor Party for its entire existence, though it had become increasingly marginal since the 1980s.

The last member for Burke, Brendan O'Connor, successfully transferred to Gorton in the 2004 federal election with only a small swing against him.

[2][3] It previously included the suburbs of Albanvale, Brookfield, Cairnlea, Cobblebank, Harkness, Kurunjang, Melton, Melton South, Plumpton and Strathtulloh; parts of Diggers Rest, Parwan, and Toolern Vale; as well as the townships of Exford and Eynesbury prior to past redistributions.