Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Prime Minister of Australia when anti-conscriptionist Andrew Fisher resigned in 1915.
He formed the new party for himself and his followers after he was expelled from the ALP a month after the 1916 plebiscite on conscription in Australia.
The Labor Party avoided a split in Queensland due to the efforts of T. J. Ryan to minimise losses.
However, by July he was without a seat in Parliament, and the party turned to Federal Senators Patrick Lynch, Hugh de Largie and George Pearce for leadership and guidance.
Unlike its federal counterpart, it maintained its own distinct identity and structure and worked with the Nationalists as coalition partners.