Macfarlan served his articles of clerkship with the crown solicitor and was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1908, following in the footsteps of his older brother James McFarlan who became a Supreme Court judge.

[1] Macfarlan was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in April 1928 at a by-election for the seat of Brighton, narrowly defeating Eleanor Glencross.

Instead of resigning, however, Dunstan persuaded the Governor, Sir Winston Dugan, to grant him a dissolution of Parliament, conditional on the budget being passed.

These terms drew fire from the Opposition who claimed that the Governor in his letter to the Premier had left himself open to the charge of instructing the Assembly to grant Supply to a ministry which had already been refused it and to no other.

At the subsequent state election in November, the Labor Party obtained a majority (with the support of two Independents) and formed a government.