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This article lists the longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia.

Longest total service

This section lists members of parliament who have served for a cumulative total of at least 30 years.

All these periods of service were spent in one House exclusively. A number of people have served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but none of them to date has had an aggregate length of service to the Parliament reaching 30 years.

No woman yet appears on this list. Bronwyn Bishop served in the Australian parliament longer than any other woman, in October 2014 outstripping the record of 27 years and 119 days previously held by Kathy Sullivan. At the end of her term at the 2 July 2016 double dissolution, Bishop had served for 28 years and 274 days.

†= Died in office

Longest service by women

Chronological list

This section lists the members of parliament (and of each chamber) with the longest continuous service at any given time. The longest-serving MPs in each chamber are sometimes referred to as the "Father of the House" and "Father of the Senate", and very rarely the overall longest-serving MP is called the "Father of the Parliament".

House of Representatives Practice describes the title "Father of the House" as a "completely informal designation" with "no functions attached to it".

Odgers' Australian Senate Practice notes that the title "Father of the Senate" is "now seldom referred to or used". It further notes that "as no woman senator has ever been in this situation, it is not clear what the title would be in that circumstance". Since then, the title was assumed by Marise Payne, the longest serving female senator in Australia's history. After Payne's resignation took effect, Penny Wong, also a woman, became the longest serving incumbent senator.

Longest-serving members by state and territory

State / Territory	Longest-serving members
	Lower house	Upper house	Overall
Australian Capital Territory	Jim Fraser 18 years, 338 days 1951–1970	Margaret Reid 21 years, 285 days 1981–2003	Bob McMullan 22 years, 86 days 1988–1996 (S), 1996–2010 (H)
New South Wales	Billy Hughes 45 years, 354 days 1901–1917, 1922–1952	Stan Amour 26 years, 364 days 1938–1965	Billy Hughes 45 years, 354 days 1901–1917, 1922–1952
Northern Territory	Warren Snowdon 32 years, 60 days 1987–1996, 1998–2022	Nigel Scullion 17 years, 232 days 2001–2019	Warren Snowdon 32 years, 60 days 1987–1996, 1998–2022
Queensland	Littleton Groom 32 years, 353 days 1901–1929, 1931–1936	Walter Cooper 36 years, 227 days 1928–1932, 1935–1968	Walter Cooper 36 years, 227 days 1928–1932, 1935–1968
South Australia	Norman Makin 36 years, 37 days 1919–1946, 1955–1963	Robert Hill 24 years, 257 days 1981–2006	Norman Makin 36 years, 37 days 1919–1946, 1955–1963
Tasmania	Gil Duthie 29 years, 76 days 1946–1975	Justin O'Byrne 34 years, 0 days 1947–1981	Justin O'Byrne 34 years, 0 days 1947–1981
Victoria	William Maloney 36 years, 151 days 1904–1940	Kim Carr 29 years, 63 days 1993–2022	William Maloney 36 years, 151 days 1904–1940
Western Australia	Kim Beazley Sr. 32 years, 145 days 1945–1977	George Pearce 37 years, 93 days 1901–1938	George Pearce 37 years, 93 days 1901–1938

See also

• Longest-serving members of the Parliament of Victoria
• List of Australian heads of government by time in office
• List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office

• List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
• List of historical longest-serving members of the United States Congress
• Members of the Malaysian Parliament who have served for at least 30 years
• Members of the New Zealand Parliament who have served for at least 30 years
• Records of members of the Oireachtas (Ireland)
• Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom

References

1. Handbook of the 42nd Parliament: Members who have served in both chambers
2. Wilson, Janet, & McCann, Dr Joy (9 July 2014). "Representation of women in Australian parliaments 2014". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. "Titles accorded to members". House of Representatives Practice (6th ed.). Parliament of Australia. 2012.
4. "Seniority of senators". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. 2016.
5. Although Senator Sir George Pearce and Billy Hughes MP were elected on different dates (29 March and 30 March 1901 respectively), all members of the First Parliament were considered to be of equal seniority.

v t e Parliament of Australia
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Parliamentary officers	Senate President of the Senate Clerk Leader of the Government Manager of Government Business Leader of the Opposition Manager of Opposition Business Whips (list) House of Representatives Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Clerk Prime Minister Leader of the House Leader of the Opposition Manager of Opposition Business Whips (list)
Members	Served in both houses Represented multiple states Longest service Independents Senate Current (previous) Appointees Women House of Representatives Current (previous) Women
Parliaments	Chronology of Australian federal parliaments 45th Parliament of Australia 46th Parliament of Australia 47th Parliament of Australia
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Locations	Parliament House, Melbourne Old Parliament House Parliament House, Canberra
See also	List of members of the Australian Parliament who died in office Members of multiple Australian legislatures

• Senior legislators
• Lists of legislators in Australia
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• Members of the Parliament of Australia
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