46th Parliament of Australia

• 2 July 2019: Parliament is opened by the newly appointed Governor-General, David Hurley.[1]
• 25 July 2019: The government’s legislation repealing provisions allowing the medical transfer to Australia of refugees passes the lower house, despite vociferous objection by Labor and other minor party MPs.[2] The original legislation’s passage in the previous parliament represented the first time a government had lost a substantial vote in the House of Representatives in 90 years.[2]
• 24 November 2019: Channel 9’s 60 Minutes program airs a report alleging that a Chinese intelligence group offered one million dollars to pay for the political campaign of a Liberal Party member to run in an eastern suburbs seat, as part of an operation to place a Chinese agent in Parliament. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation later confirms the legitimacy of the story and reveals an ongoing investigation into the matter.[3] See the 2019 Australian Parliament infiltration plot article for further details.
• 3 February 2020: The Deputy Leader of the National Party Bridget McKenzie resigns from her leadership position and from Cabinet amidst a "sports rorts affair" that sees McKenzie oversee a community sports grants program that appears to be politically biased toward clubs located in marginal or target seats for the Government. At the subsequent leadership spill Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack narrowly avoids being removed from the position after being challenged by Barnaby Joyce.[4][5]

• The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Relief So Working Australians Keep More Of Their Money) Bill 2019 passes the parliament on 4 July 2019. The legislation, providing $158 billion in income tax cuts, was the government's signature election policy. Despite opposing Stage 3 of the legislation, which would flatten the tax rate to 30% for all workers earning between $45,000 and $200,000, Labor votes in favour of the bill and only the Greens vote against the bill at the third reading.[10]
• The Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Bill 2019 and related legislation passes the parliament on 25 July 2019. The legislation gives the Minister the power to block a person aged over 14 years of age (including an Australian citizen) from returning to Australia for up to two years if the minister “suspects on reasonable grounds” that a temporary exclusion order would prevent support or assistance to a terrorist organisation.[11] The government refused to support all the amendments recommended by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and supported by Labor, leading to concerns regarding the constitutional validity of the bill.[11][12]

This table lists members of the House or Senate who have resigned, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 46th Parliament.

• 45th Parliament of Australia
• Morrison Government
• 2020s in Australia political history