Veteran Liberal MP Philip Ruddock says he's available to replace Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker.
Mrs Bishop quit the role on Sunday in the wake of the expenses scandal, which has also sparked a review of parliamentary entitlements.
"Yes, I would be available if my parliamentary colleagues sought it," Mr Ruddock told AAP in a statement on Monday.
Retiring Queensland Nationals MP Bruce Scott will be acting Speaker until parliament returns next Monday, when a new Speaker will be elected.
Mr Ruddock, a former Liberal minister who has been in parliament since 1973, is firming as the favourite to take on the role.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he hoped Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not impose another "captain's pick" on the parliament.
"If it's Mr Scott or indeed if it's Sharman Stone from the seat of Murray, they are both people who at least don't have the same hyper-partisanship which has really made the last 21 months of Mr Abbott's government and the parliament such a laughing stock," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.
Mr Scott would be a good choice as he was "someone who has absolutely nothing to gain at the next election".
Cabinet minister Andrew Robb is open to the idea of the next Speaker withdrawing from the party room.
"It is important that there's a significant measure of independence," he told ABC radio.
Mr Abbott has ordered a review of entitlements headed by former Finance Department secretary David Tune.
While the review was welcome, Mr Shorten said it would take a "different mode of behaviour" to fix the problem, rather than simply more rule changes.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the entitlements system was stuck "very much in the last century" and the use of smartphone apps could make MPs instantly accountable.
"The most important thing is that it is taxpayers' money and to use it responsibly and prudently and use no more than you need to do your job," he told ABC radio.
The Finance Department is examining 10 years of Mrs Bishop's expenses claims, including a $5200 helicopter charter in 2014, which could be referred to the Australian Federal Police if any possible criminality is identified.
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