Linda Burney doesn't want to be put in a small box labelled Aboriginal.
But the former NSW minister could make history as the first indigenous women to be elected to the House of Representatives.
Ms Burney is seeking Labor preselection in the federal seat of Barton, in southern Sydney, ahead of the election later this year.
"I want it to be very clear that I will not be defined by my aboriginality - it is who I am, it is what I stand for," she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
"I have a much broader view of the world and will not be shanghaied into that small, small box."
Ms Burney is the state Labor member for Canterbury, having become the first indigenous Australian to serve in the NSW parliament when she was elected in 2003.
The switch will require a by-election in Canterbury and for her to vacate the deputy opposition leader position in NSW Labor.
Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Ms Burney had passion and integrity.
NSW Labor leader Luke Foley said she would make a fine contribution and her experience would be an asset for Mr Shorten and the federal ALP team.
The seat of Barton has been extensively redrawn in the redistribution, changing it from a marginal Liberal seat to marginal Labor.
It has been held by the Liberals' Nick Varvaris since 2013, but before that was held by Labor's Robert McClelland since 1996.
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