An emboldened group of independents are preparing to take up a series of issues, from asylum seekers to fighting corruption, when federal parliament returns this week.
Crossbenchers now hold the balance of power in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
They are preparing to pile pressure on the minority coalition government over a national anti-corruption watchdog and a ban on Commonwealth support for coal-fired power stations.
Also on their checklist is urgently transferring ill asylum seekers in offshore detention to Australia and a royal commission into the supermarket and petrol retailing sectors.
Labor also plans to draw on crossbench concerns by bringing on a bill on Monday to protect gay students from discrimination in faith-based schools.
"Those exemptions (to discrimination laws) are not appropriate in contemporary Australia and I hope that the parliament can swiftly move to deal with them," Labor Senator Penny Wong told the ABC on Sunday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be seeking to put parliament's focus to the coalition's preferred battlegrounds of the economy and national security, on his return from the G20 summit in Argentina.
The coalition wants laws designed to give police greater access to encrypted communications to pass parliament by the end of this week.
"Christmas is a heightened security issue for us and we need to make sure people are as safe and as secure as possible," Assistant Home Affairs Minister Linda Reynolds said.
However, Labor says the bill as it is currently drafted could expose Australia to security breaches.
"We have to stand up for Australia's national security. The bill as it is currently drafted makes Australians less safe," Labor Senator Penny Wong said.
One unresolved issue is whether Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who was away from parliament last week, will be referred to the High Court over eligibility issues.
The prime minister has warned that sending Mr Dutton to court could trigger a spate of referrals.
"There are three other house members that have the same issues that have been suggested about Peter Dutton," Mr Morrison said.
"So any principled position, any consistent position, anyone seeking to be truly fair about this would apply the same rule to all of those members."
While Labor has been seeking crossbench support, there is a feeling among many of the independents that no individual MP should be singled out and instead there should be a "job lot" of MPs under a cloud.
Once it rises on Thursday, the parliament won't return until February 12.
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