Tony Abbott wants to focus on running the country but another week of parliament means he has to return to the site of the "Canberra gossip" that's continuing to dog his government.
Violence on two fronts is set to dominate the week's agenda.
The prime minister indicated on Sunday he would step up the national campaign tackling domestic violence.
His message was: "Any man who raises his hand to a woman is weak and gutless."
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has sought an urgent national summit to address the issue.
The fight against terrorism will also be high on the government's agenda. Laws to strip Australian citizenship from extremists with dual nationality are likely to be fast tracked through parliament with Labor's support.
Debate in the lower house on Tuesday will be the first time MPs see the government's changes to the bill in response to a parliamentary committee's recommendations the measures be tightened.
The legislation is scheduled to be in the Senate by Wednesday.
The first Australian planes flew over Syria on Friday but didn't drop any bombs, and more air strikes could be expected in the coming week.
With the Canning by-election on Saturday and the Liberals keen to underscore the credentials of their SAS officer candidate Andrew Hastie, national security is likely to dominate question times.
However, Labor is likely to try and land a blow on Mr Abbott as he faces continued speculation about a challenge to his leadership.
Polls at the weekend suggested there could be a swing of up to 10 points in the Canning by-election - enough to get Mr Hastie to parliament but possibly not enough to save Mr Abbott.
Unnamed ministers told News Corp a challenge was now "inevitable".
The opposition may also target Immigration Minister Peter Dutton over his joke with the prime minister about the effects of climate change on Pacific islands.
Labor isn't satisfied with Mr Dutton's apology to "anyone who has taken offence", saying he's only sorry he was caught.
On the sidelines, Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens will face his six-monthly grilling from the House of Representatives economics committee on Friday. He will be quizzed on the domestic and international economic outlooks and the likely course of interest rates.
Gay marriage will get another spot in the off-off-Broadway limelight of the Federation Chamber; another 10 minutes of debate will be scheduled on government backbencher Warren Entsch's bill.
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