She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2014 to 2018, representing Western Metropolitan Region for the Democratic Labour Party (2014–2017), Australian Conservatives (2017–2018) and as an independent (2018).

[8] In Carling-Jenkins' inaugural parliamentary speech, she described herself as a social justice campaigner, committed to raising awareness about gender selection abortions, cracking down on the sex industry, and rights for people with a disability and the elderly.

[9][10][11] In a speech to the Victorian Legislative Council in September 2017, Carling-Jenkins disclosed that her former husband had been convicted and imprisoned for possession of child pornography, describing her shock at discovering the material on his computer and how she had reported him to the police.

Carling-Jenkins was a force behind the introduction of Jalal's Law, which provides that any unlicensed driver involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured will be presumed to have been driving dangerously.

The change follows community lobbying over the death of 13-year-old boy Jalal Yassine-Naja, who was killed after being struck by a four-wheel-drive with an unlicensed driver behind the wheel in March 2017.