The 2016 general election held on 2 July gave the Coalition of the Liberal and National Parties control of the House, albeit with a slimmer majority than the 44th Parliament, allowing their leader Malcolm Turnbull to stay in office as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.

The leadership of the government also changed during the parliament, when Scott Morrison replaced Turnbull as Liberal Leader and Prime Minister in August 2018.

The 45th Parliament was officially prorogued by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove at 8:29 a.m. on 11 April 2019, and the House of Representatives dissolved at 8:30 a.m.[1] At the 2016 federal election, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the incumbent Coalition government was reelected with 76 seats, a majority of one seat.

Five other MPs were elected to the crossbench, with the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team, Katter's Australian Party, and independents Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan winning a seat each.

The parliamentary eligibility crisis involving dual citizenship was responsible for a significant portion of these departures, although the cases of Barnaby Joyce and John Alexander only left brief vacancies due to their prompt returns in by-elections.