[1] The division was created in 1949 and is named after Andrew Fisher, Prime Minister of Australia on three non-consecutive occasions within the first two decades following Federation.

It is located in the Sunshine Coast area north of Brisbane and includes the towns of Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Beerwah, Maleny, Woodford and Kilcoy.

As originally created, it extended as far inland as Kingaroy, but gradually moved eastward from the 1960s onward to become an entirely Sunshine Coast-based seat.

The Brisbane portion was removed in 1993 (mostly going to the new seat of Dickson), erasing Labor's majority and making Fisher notionally Liberal.

Its most prominent members have been Sir Charles Adermann, who was Deputy Leader of the Country Party 1964–66, and Peter Slipper, who served as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012.