# 47th Parliament of Australia

The 47th Parliament of Australia is the current meeting of the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Australia, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The May 2022 federal election gave the Australian Labor Party control of the House, with 77 seats, enough for a two-seat majority government. Labor gained an additional seat at the Aston by-election in April 2023, thereby increasing its majority to three seats for the remainder of the term. Following the election, Labor leader Anthony Albanese became the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, and was sworn in by the Governor-General David Hurley on 23 May 2022. The 47th Parliament opened in Canberra on 26 July 2022.

## Major events and legislation

* The Climate Change Act 2022 passed the parliament on 8 September 2022, having been approved by the House by 86 votes to 50 and the Senate by 37 votes to 30. The legislation codifies a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 (on 2005 levels), requires the Climate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against those targets, mandates that the Minister for Climate Change reports annually to Parliament on Australia's progress, and forces federal government agencies to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Act.
* The Social Security Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 September 2022, having passed the House by 86 votes to 56 and the Senate by 33 votes to 26. The legislation repealed the mandatory Cashless Welfare Card, originally introduced as a trial in 2016 for 12,500 people across four trial sites, which quarantined around 80% of a person's income so it could not be spent on alcohol or gambling or withdrawn in cash. As a result of the legislative change, participants could opt out of the scheme, though around 4,300 people in the Northern Territory and Cape York remained on the card prior to the introduction of a compulsory income-management scheme in 2023.
* The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 November 2022. The legislation implemented seven of the recommendations of the Kate Jenkins-authored Respect@Work report into sexual harassment. Among other reforms, the laws impose a positive onus on employers to take steps to demonstrate that they're proactively attempting to eliminate sex discrimination "as far as possible". In addition, victimising conduct can be the basis of a civil, not just criminal, complaint, and public sector agencies are newly required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as occurs with private sector agencies.
* The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 passed the parliament on 30 November 2022. The legislation established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent federal agency equipped with the power to investigate Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff for corrupt or improper behaviour.
* The Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 2 December 2022. The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 80 votes to 56 and passed the Senate by 35 votes to 31. The workplace relations reforms introduce multi-employer bargaining, allow the Fair Work Commission to authorise workers with sufficient common interests to bargain together and abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission. The legislation passed with the support of the Greens and Senator David Pocock, who each won government support for an enforceable right to request unpaid parental leave and measures to prevent a loophole in the better-off-overall test in the legislation, as well as the creation of a statutory advisory committee of experts to provide independent advice concerning "economic inclusion" of lower-income people, welfare recipients and cost-of-living relief.
* The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 passed the parliament on 1 December 2022. The legislation, which abolished the federal ban on the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory legislatures passing laws to permit euthanasia schemes (originally passed in 1997) was subject to a conscience vote for most parties. It was approved by 99 votes to 37 in the House of Representatives and by 41 votes to 25 in the Senate.
* The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 passed the parliament on 30 March 2023. The legislation passed with the support of the Labor government, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and independent crossbenchers in both chambers, following intense negotiations between the parties. In effect, 215 of the country's major polluting facilities are required to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, through absolute cuts or by buying carbon offsets. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time. The legislation passed the Senate by 32 votes to 26 and the House by 89 votes to 50, with the Liberal/National Coalition, One Nation and United Australia parties opposed to the reforms.
* The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 proposed alteration to the Constitution of Australia passed the parliament on 19 June 2023. It passed by 121 votes to 25 in the House of Representatives and by 52 votes to 19 in the Senate. It enabled a referendum to occur in the latter months of 2023, to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, which would have an advisory power to consult with the parliament and Executive Government on matters and legislation affecting Indigenous Australians.
* The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 passed the parliament on 14 September 2023. The legislation established the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund-type scheme to enable the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years. A guaranteed $500 million is to be spent per year from the fund, while a minimum of 1,200 homes are to be built in each state and territory across the period. The legislation's passage was achieved after the government won the support of the Greens, who negotiated an extra $1 billion for public and community housing from the government, though failed to win support for a national freeze or caps on rents. Several months prior to the legislation's passage, the government made a $2 billion separate one-off announcement for social housing through a "social housing accelerator" scheme.
* In January 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government had approved changes to the Stage 3 income tax cuts, originally passed by the Morrison government during the 46th Parliament and set to come into effect on 1 July 2024. Under the new scheme, the flattening of the tax rate for all income between $45,000 and $200,000 to 30% will be overturned through the restoration of the 37% tax rate, income earners above $150,000 will have their tax cuts progressively reduced to as much as half of the original cut, whilst earners up to $150,000 will have a larger cut than proposed under the previous government. To this effect, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 was approved by the parliament on 27 February 2024.
* On the final sitting day before the 2024 winter parliamentary break, the Albanese Government experienced its first legislative defeat in the 47th Parliament when a proposed Defence Amendment Bill was voted down in the Senate. The bill aimed to establish a parliamentary committee with broad investigative powers into Defence spending, but was rejected due to opposition from both government and coalition members, who resisted including cross-bench representation. Greens Senator David Shoebridge criticized the persistent issues with Defence procurement, citing significant failures and cost overruns in submarine, frigate, and offshore patrol vessel projects. The bill's defeat left Defence's extensive budget and procurement practices with minimal oversight, highlighting ongoing concerns about accountability and management within the department.
* In August 2024, the parliament passed the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Act 2024, which made significant changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, altering the way participants receive plan budgets and giving more powers to the head of the agency in charge of the scheme to prevent top-up payments on a participant’s budget. The reforms curb the growth rate of funding for the scheme, resulting in $14.4 billion in savings over four years, and were achieved after receiving the support of the state and territory governments, who co-govern the scheme in conjunction with the federal government. These changes attracted criticism from disability rights advocates and Greens spokesperson Jordon Steele-John, who accused Labor of "ripp[ing] the heart out of the NDIS by removing our right to choice and control".
* Also in August 2024, the parliament passed the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Act 2024, which placed the construction divisions of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) into administration. Under the legislation, the CFMEU's construction division will be placed into administration for a minimum of three years, after reports of the division being infiltrated by organised criminal enterprises. The legislation was supported by Labor, the Coalition and some crossbenchers, and was opposed by the Greens. It passed the Senate by 47 votes to 10 and passed the House without a division called for on the third reading.
* Regulatory changes to visa fees for international university students were adopted on 1 July 2024, via the Migration Amendment (Visa Application Charges) Regulations 2024. The non-refundable fee for a student visa increased from $710 AUD to $1600 AUD, making Australia's visa fees among the highest in the developed world. The changes were subject to a disallowance motion in the Senate on 14 August, which was defeated 26 votes to 12. Accompanying changes to temporary graduate work visa (subclass 485) applicants reduced the maximum age for applicants from 50 to 35 years of age and reduced the post-study right to stay and find work for nationals of most countries except Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders, attracting criticism for unequal treatment and the potential of a disincentive being created for specialist masters and PhD candidates to study and work in Australia.
* On 7 November 2024, Albanese announced rules to ban children under 16 from accessing social media. Under the legislation, "age-restricted social media platforms" include TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, X and Reddit. Under 16's would be able to view YouTube in a logged-out state. The legislation, introduced two weeks after Albanese's announcement, places the onus on the platforms to create systems and processes to ensure under-16's are not creating accounts, and adopts a "reasonable steps" test for this purpose, though does not specify exactly how the platforms must comply with the obligation. Platforms would face fines of up to $50 million where there were "systematic" issues of multiple users being able to circumvent the age verification protocols. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 passed the House by 102 votes to 13, winning support of Labor, the Coalition and four independents, and was opposed by the Greens and eight other crossbenchers. The bill passed the Senate by 34 votes to 19, being opposed by the Greens, six other crossbenchers, and two Coalition senators (Matt Canavan and Alex Antic) who crossed the floor.
* Further housing-related bills were before the parliament throughout 2024, namely the government's "Help to Buy" and "Build to Rent" bills. The bills allow up to 40,000 first home buyers to co-purchase homes with the government and offer a tax incentive for apartment complexes designed for renters. The legislation was opposed by the Coalition, and so for much of the year Labor and the Greens negotiated the bill's passage. The Greens initially refused to offer support the bills unless they were accompanied by the winding down of negative gearing on properties, rent caps and additional guaranteed funding for social housing, though in November 2024 the party announced they would back the bills unaltered, with party spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather saying "at the end of the day, if the government doesn't care about [renters] then it's up to them, but you can't accuse us of not trying".
* The Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024 passed the parliament on 26 November 2024. The legislation reversed the large indexation increases that applied to HECS-HELP fees over the previous two years (2023 and 2024) as a result of high inflation. Indexation rates will now be pegged to whichever of the Wage Price Index or Consumer Price Index is lower. The legislation passed amidst Labor announcing it would cut the student debts of all Australians by 20% if the party won the 2025 election. The Greens attempted to include these changes as amendments to the Universities Accord Bill, though these were voted down by Labor and the Coalition.
* The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2025 passed the parliament on 13 February 2025. The legislation made the most significant reforms to electoral funding laws in decades. The public disclosure threshold for individual donations was lowered from $16,000 to $5,000, whilst real-time disclosure of donations was enabled for the first time. Political parties are limited to spending $90 million during campaigns, whilst independent MPs and candidates can spend up to $800,000 in their electorates. Public funding per vote increases from $3.50 a vote to $5 for candidates who earn above 4% of the vote in an electorate. Following extensive negotiation, the legislation was supported by the Labor government and Liberal/National opposition, however almost all minor parties and independent MPs on the crossbench vociferously opposed the reforms, arguing they favoured the major parties and disadvantaged non-major party affiliated individuals from running for and winning seats.

## Parliamentary conduct

Since July 2022, there have been 118 instances of MPs being ejected from the House of Representatives during Question Time, with 93% of these ejections involving male MPs. Notable frequent offenders include Coalition spokesperson Michael Sukkar and Liberal backbencher Tony Pasin. The Albanese government, despite its commitment to improving parliamentary conduct, has delayed the establishment of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) to address such issues until at least October 2024, as stated by Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher.

## Leadership
### Senate
#### Presiding officer

* President of the Senate: Sue Lines

#### Government leadership

* Leader of the Government: Penny Wong
* Deputy Leader of the Government: Don Farrell
* Chief Government Whip: Anne Urquhart
* Deputy Government Whips: Raff Ciccone & Louise Pratt
* Manager of Government Business: Katy Gallagher

#### Opposition leadership

* Leader of the Opposition: Simon Birmingham (until January 2025), Michaelia Cash (from January 2025)
* Deputy Leader of the Opposition: Michaelia Cash (until January 2025), Anne Ruston (from January 2025)
* Chief Opposition Whip: Wendy Askew
* Deputy Opposition Whips: Paul Scarr & Matt O'Sullivan
* Manager of Opposition Business: Anne Ruston (until January 2025), Jonathan Duniam (from January 2025)

### House of Representatives
#### Presiding officer

* Speaker of the House: Milton Dick

#### Government leadership

* Leader of the House: Tony Burke
* Chief Government Whip: Joanne Ryan
* Government Whips: Anne Stanley & David Smith

#### Opposition leadership

* Manager of Opposition Business: Paul Fletcher (until January 2025), Michael Sukkar (from January 2025)
* Chief Opposition Whip: Bert van Manen
* Opposition Whips: Melissa Price & Rowan Ramsey

## Party summary
### House of Representatives

| Affiliation | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| Affiliation | GRN | ALP | IND | CA | LPA | NPA | KAP | UAP | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Parliament | 1 | 68 | 4 | 1 | 60 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 151 | 0 |
| Begin (26 July 2022) | 4 | 77 | 10 | 1 | 42 | 16 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 23 December 2022 | 4 | 77 | 11 | 1 | 42 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 17 February 2023 | 4 | 77 | 11 | 1 | 41 | 15 | 1 | — | 150 | 1 |
| 1 April 2023 | 4 | 78 | 11 | 1 | 41 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 18 May 2023 | 4 | 78 | 11 | 1 | 40 | 15 | 1 | — | 150 | 1 |
| 15 July 2023 | 4 | 78 | 11 | 1 | 41 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 14 November 2023 | 4 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 40 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 4 December 2023 | 4 | 77 | 12 | 1 | 40 | 15 | 1 | — | 150 | 1 |
| 28 February 2024 | 4 | 77 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 15 | 1 | — | 149 | 2 |
| 2 March 2024 | 4 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 15 | 1 | — | 150 | 1 |
| 13 April 2024 | 4 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 40 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 12 January 2025 | 4 | 78 | 13 | 1 | 39 | 15 | 1 | — | 151 | 0 |
| 19 January 2025 | 4 | 78 | 13 | 1 | 39 | 14 | 1 | — | 150 | 1 |
| 20 January 2025 | 4 | 77 | 13 | 1 | 39 | 14 | 1 | — | 149 | 2 |
| Latest voting share % | 2.65 | 50.99 | 8.61 | 0.66 | 35.10 | 35.10 | 0.66 | — | | |

### Senate

| Affiliation | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| Affiliation | GRN | ALP | IND | CA | REX | JLN | LPA | NPA | LDP | ON | UAP | PFP | AV | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Parliament | 9 | 26 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| Begin (26 July 2022) | 12 | 26 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 26 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 16 January 2023 | 12 | 26 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 6 February 2023 | 11 | 26 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 31 May 2023 | 11 | 26 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 26 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 17 June 2023 | 11 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 30 September 2023 | 11 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 24 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 30 November 2023 | 11 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 26 January 2024 | 11 | 25 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 1 February 2024 | 11 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 29 February 2024 | 11 | 25 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 28 March 2024 | 11 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 19 April 2024 | 10 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 74 | 2 |
| 1 May 2024 | 11 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 1 |
| 29 May 2024 | 11 | 26 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 4 July 2024 | 11 | 25 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 25 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 25 August 2024 | 11 | 25 | 6 | — | — | 1 | 24 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 0 |
| 5 December 2024 | 11 | 25 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 24 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 76 | 0 |
| 17 December 2024 | 11 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 24 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 76 | 0 |
| 28 January 2025 | 11 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 23 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 75 | 1 |
| 6 February 2025 | 11 | 25 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 24 | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 76 | 0 |
| Latest voting share % | 14.47 | 32.89 | 5.26 | — | — | 1.32 | 39.47 | 39.47 | — | 2.63 | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.32 | | |

## Demographics

The 47th Parliament of Australia has a historically high representation of women; women make up 38% of the House of Representatives and 57% of the Senate, the highest on record for both chambers. In terms of representation, Indigenous members will account for 9.6 per cent of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9 per cent of 151 House of Representatives seats.
Despite these advancements, Parliament does not fully mirror the Australian population. Women, who hold a slight majority in the general population, are still underrepresented in Parliament. The average age of MPs is higher than the national median of 38. Representation of culturally diverse backgrounds is also limited, with only 6.6% of MPs having non-European ancestry compared to 23% of the general population, and 4.4% of MPs having Asian heritage versus 18% of Australians. Indigenous representation has increased, with eight Indigenous senators and three Indigenous MPs, totaling 4.8% of the Parliament, which is higher than the Indigenous population percentage of 3.3%. Despite these advances, Australia's parliamentary representation continues to lag behind countries such as Canada and New Zealand in terms of gender and cultural diversity.
The Liberal Party's representation of women has declined, with only 9 seats compared to 13 in the previous parliament. In contrast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet is the most diverse in Australian history, featuring 10 women out of 23 cabinet ministers, with several holding prominent positions such as Penny Wong in foreign affairs and Linda Burney as the first female Indigenous cabinet minister.

### Senate

The Senate included 32 men and 44 women, the most women to date.

### House of Representatives

There are 58 women in the House, the largest number in history, with 19 of these being first-term Members of Parliament (MPs). Three current members are LGBTQ+ — Stephen Bates, Angie Bell and Julian Hill. Four members; Mark Dreyfus, Josh Burns, Mike Freelander and Julian Leeser identified as Jewish. Labor members — Ed Husic and Anne Aly — became the first two Muslim federal ministers.

## Membership
### Senate

40 of the 76 seats in the upper house were contested in the election in May 2022. The class of senators elected in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk (*).

### House of Representatives

All 151 seats in the lower house were contested in the election in May 2022.

## Changes in membership
### Senate

This table lists senators who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
| Seat | Before | Before | Before | Change | Change | After | After | After | After |
| Seat | Member | Party | Party | Type | Date | Date | Member | Party | Party |
| New South Wales | Jim Molan | | Liberal | Death | 16 January 2023 | 31 May 2023 | Maria Kovacic | | Liberal |
| Victoria | Lidia Thorpe | | Greens | Resignation from party | 6 February 2023 | 6 February 2023 | Lidia Thorpe | | Independent |
| Victoria | David Van | | Liberal | Expulsion from party room | 15 June 2023 | 15 June 2023 | David Van | | Independent |
| New South Wales | Marise Payne | | Liberal | Resignation | 30 September 2023 | 30 November 2023 | Dave Sharma | | Liberal |
| Western Australia | Pat Dodson | | Labor | Resignation | 26 January 2024 | 1 February 2024 | Varun Ghosh | | Labor |
| Victoria | Linda White | | Labor | Death | 29 February 2024 | 29 May 2024 | Lisa Darmanin | | Labor |
| Tasmania | Tammy Tyrrell | | Lambie | Resignation from party | 28 March 2024 | 28 March 2024 | Tammy Tyrrell | | Independent |
| Victoria | Janet Rice | | Greens | Resignation | 19 April 2024 | 1 May 2024 | Steph Hodgins-May | | Greens |
| Western Australia | Fatima Payman | | Labor | Resignation from party | 4 July 2024 | 4 July 2024 | Fatima Payman | | Independent |
| Queensland | Gerard Rennick | | LNP | Resignation from party | 25 August 2024 | 25 August 2024 | Gerard Rennick | | Independent |
| South Australia | Simon Birmingham | | Liberal | Resignation | 28 January 2025 | 6 February 2025 | Leah Blyth | | Liberal |

### House of Representatives

This table lists members of the House who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
| Seat | Before | Before | Before | Change | Change | After | After | After | After |
| Seat | Member | Party | Party | Type | Date | Date | Member | Party | Party |
| Calare | Andrew Gee | | National | Resignation from party | 23 December 2022 | 23 December 2022 | Andrew Gee | | Independent |
| Aston | Alan Tudge | | Liberal | Resignation | 17 February 2023 | 1 April 2023 | Mary Doyle | | Labor |
| Fadden | Stuart Robert | | Liberal National | Resignation | 18 May 2023 | 15 July 2023 | Cameron Caldwell | | Liberal National |
| Monash | Russell Broadbent | | Liberal | Resignation from party | 14 November 2023 | 14 November 2023 | Russell Broadbent | | Independent |
| Dunkley | Peta Murphy | | Labor | Death | 4 December 2023 | 2 March 2024 | Jodie Belyea | | Labor |
| Cook | Scott Morrison | | Liberal | Resignation | 28 February 2024 | 13 April 2024 | Simon Kennedy | | Liberal |
| Moore | Ian Goodenough | | Liberal | Party membership lapsed | 12 January 2025 | 12 January 2025 | Ian Goodenough | | Independent |
| Hinkler | Keith Pitt | | Liberal National | Resignation | 19 January 2025 | 19 January 2025 | Vacant | | Vacant |
| Maribyrnong | Bill Shorten | | Labor | Resignation | 20 January 2025 | 20 January 2025 | Vacant | | Vacant |