List of shortest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia

This is a list of the shortest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia . ^[1]

The shortest-serving member of the House of Representatives (and overall in the parliament) is Charles Howroyd, who died five days after the 1917 election, with his health having suffered badly during the strenuous campaign. ^[2] The shortest-serving senator is Lionel Courtenay, who died ten days after the beginning of his term without having been officially sworn in. ^[3]

List

This list does not include incumbent members currently serving their first term.

Member			Party	Electorate	Term start	Term start	Service (in days)	Notes
		Charles Howroyd	Nationalist	Darwin	5 May 1917	10 May 1917	5	Died
		Lionel Courtenay	United Australia	New South Wales (Senate)	1 July 1935	11 July 1935	10	Died
		John Clasby	United Australia	East Sydney	19 December 1931	15 January 1932	27	Died
		Warwick Stacey	One Nation	New South Wales (Senate)	1 July 2025	19 August 2025	49	Resigned due to personal health issues
		Charles Mackellar	Protectionist	New South Wales (Senate)	8 October 1903	30 November 1903	53	Retired
		Jack Power	Labor	New South Wales (Senate)	20 November 1924	13 January 1925	54	Died
		Max Poulter	Labor	Queensland (Senate)	1 July 1962	2 September 1962	63	Died
		Albert Field	Independent	Queensland (Senate)	3 September 1975	11 November 1975	69	Retired
		David Reid	Country	Western Australia (Senate)	16 January 1974	11 April 1974	85	Lost seat
		Duncan Spender	Liberal Democrats	New South Wales (Senate)	20 March 2019	30 June 2019	102	Lost seat
		Edward Jolley	Labor	Grampians	5 September 1914	1 January 1915	118	Died
		Robert Blackwood	Free Trade	Riverina	16 December 1903	13 April 1904	119	Election declared void
		William Henry Groom	Protectionist	Darling Downs	30 March 1901	8 August 1901	131	Died
		Alexander Fraser	Country	Victoria (Senate)	15 May 1946	27 September 1946	135	Lost seat
		Martin Cameron	Liberal	South Australia (Senate)	23 May 1969	24 October 1969	154	Lost seat
		Edwin Kerby	Nationalist	Ballaarat	13 December 1919	2 June 1920	182	Election declared void
		Richard Abbott	Country	Victoria (Senate)	18 December 1928	30 June 1929	190	Retired
		Patrick Mooney	Lang Labor	New South Wales (Senate)	23 December 1931	30 June 1932	190	Lost seat
		Rod Culleton	One Nation/Independent	Western Australia (Senate)	2 July 2016	11 January 2017	193	Disqualified
		Kerryn Phelps	Independent	Wentworth	20 October 2018	18 May 2019	210	Lost seat
		Greg Mirabella	Liberal	Victoria (Senate)	2 December 2021	30 June 2022	210	Lost seat
		Albert Robinson	Nationalist	South Australia (Senate)	18 April 1928	16 November 1928	212	Lost seat
		Bill Robinson	Country	Western Australia (Senate)	30 September 1952	8 May 1953	220	Lost seat
		Henry Saunders	Free Trade	Western Australia (Senate)	20 May 1903	31 December 1903	225	Lost seat
		William Gibbs	Labor	New South Wales (Senate)	1 April 1925	13 November 1925	226	Disendorsed
		Leonie Short	Labor	Ryan	17 March 2001	10 November 2001	238	Lost seat
		Henry Beard	Labor	Batman	13 April 1910	18 December 1910	249	Died
		Cleaver Bunton	Independent	New South Wales (Senate)	27 February 1975	11 November 1975	257	Retired
		Harry Kneebone	Labor	South Australia (Senate)	1 April 1931	18 December 1931	261	Lost seat
		Robert Simms	Greens	South Australia (Senate)	22 September 2015	2 July 2016	284	Lost seat
		Mehmet Tillem	Labor	Victoria (Senate)	21 August 2013	30 June 2014	313	Lost seat
		Charles Latham	Country	Western Australia (Senate)	8 October 1942	20 August 1943	316	Lost seat
		Frederick Piesse	Free Trade	Tasmania	29 March 1901	6 March 1902	342	Died
		Brendan Smyth	Liberal	Canberra	25 March 1995	2 March 1996	343	Seat abolished
		Robert Reid	Free Trade	Victoria (Senate)	21 January 1903	31 December 1903	344	Retired
		Henry Garling	Nationalist	New South Wales (Senate)	15 December 1921	15 December 1922	365	Lost seat
		Cornelius Ahern	Liberal	Indi	31 May 1913	5 September 1914	462	Lost seat
		John Arthur	Labor	Bendigo	31 May 1913	5 September 1914	462	Lost seat
		James Bennett	Liberal	Gippsland	31 May 1913	5 September 1914	462	Lost seat
		William Kendell	Liberal	Corio	31 May 1913	5 September 1914	462	Lost seat

See also

• List of longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia

References

1. Breslin, Conor (19 August 2025). "NSW Senator Warwick Stacey resigns on health grounds, adding his name to the list of shortest political careers in Australian history". Sky News Australia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
2. "The Darwin By-Election – 102 Years Ago Today". AustralianPolitics.com. 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
3. Williams, John (2004). "COURTENAY, Lionel Thomas (1879–1935)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Archived from the original on 17 May 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.