The by-election was triggered by the death of the sitting member, the Australian Labor Party's Greg Wilton on 14 June 2000.

While Wilton's intentions on the day were unclear, unrestrained media coverage of the incident was considered by his colleagues to have contributed to his eventual suicide six weeks later.

[1] The Isaacs by-election was the first election in Australia to be held after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax on 1 July 2000, and the Liberal Party declined to run a candidate.

They were overridden by the party's federal executive, who put forward Ann Corcoran, although the change resulted in a convoluted factional deal in which pre-selection ballots were altered after their submission.

The lack of a Liberal candidate saw positive primary vote swings towards all the minor parties, in particular the Australian Democrats, the main rival on a two-candidate preferred basis.