[1][2] Lister enlisted in the military on 19 November 1914 and embarked for service in World War I with the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance.

He served in the Gallipoli Campaign, in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula and attained the rank of sergeant but fell ill with pneumonia and pleurisy in 1916 and was repatriated to Australia and discharged as medically unfit.

[2][3][1][4] In 1917, he was elected as a Nationalist to the Australian House of Representatives as the member for Corio, defeating Labor MP Alfred Ozanne in a campaign centred on the interests of soldiers and his war service.

He stated during the campaign that he would consider re-enlisting and resigning if his health improved sufficiently.

[5] He attempted to win preselection to regain Corio in 1931, but was dropped in favour of Richard Casey; an attempt to recontest as an independent United Australia candidate was unsuccessful.