Included within its boundaries were Emerald, Cockatoo, Gembrook, Beaconsfield, and sizeable parts of Berwick and Pakenham.

The district formerly extended north to Yarra Valley communities such as Warburton and Launching Place prior to the seat's redistribution at the 2014 election.

It was widely considered to be a safe Liberal seat, and was to be contested by Shadow Treasurer Robert Dean, formerly the member for Berwick.

However, in a heavily publicised gaffe, it was discovered during the campaign that Dean was ineligible to stand as a candidate because he had not updated his enrolment after moving to his new electorate, and was therefore no longer a registered voter.

In an upset result widely attributed to the Dean affair, Lucas was defeated by Labor candidate Tammy Lobato.