Federal parliament will stop to pay tribute to former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.
The House of Representatives and Senate will sit at 10am on Monday as scheduled, but only to hear condolence speeches, a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
The former Liberal leader, who was prime minister from 1975 to 1983, died on Friday aged 84.
His passing comes just months after the death of his great rival Gough Whitlam, who was similarly honoured by MPs and senators in October.
Parliament's mark of respect will push back debate on controversial metadata laws in the Senate, which independent Nick Xenophon has pledged to try to "mend" to improve journalist protections.
The contentious legislation was passed by the lower house last week after the government agreed to Labor amendments.
The laws will now require spy agencies and police to obtain a warrant to access the metadata of journalists to identify their sources.
But Senator Xenophon says the laws will have a "chilling effect" on the media, and wants further changes when they come before the Senate later this week.
"Sources won't go to journalists. Whistleblowers won't go to politicians, because it will be so easy to capture that data and track people down," he told ABC TV on Sunday.
Despite the added protections, journalists would still be "in the dark" when security agencies sought a warrant for their metadata, Senator Xenophon said.
Instead, he believes Australia should adopt the US system where media groups are informed of warrant requests, and have the power to challenge them.
The independent will speak with Labor leader Bill Shorten and shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus to "try and mend it around the edges".
Also in the Senate is a government bill to reintroduce Howard-era watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).
The coalition says the commission is needed to crack down on alleged union thuggery in the building industry.
But it's unlikely to pass the upper house, with Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers opposed to the ABCC's resurrection.
Legislation to establish the office of a new Australian Border Force Commissioner will be debated in the lower house.
MPs will also consider laws that provide clear legal grounds for the use of force by immigration detention officers.
Under the proposed change, "reasonable force" may be used to protect a person's life, health or safety, or maintain the good order, peace or security of the facility.
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