Senator Jacqui Lambie sidelined from Parliament for MONTHS as she reveals major health setback
Senator Jacqui Lambie sidelined from Parliament for MONTHS as she reveals major health setback Senator Jacqui Lambie to undergo surgery She will not return to parliament this year READ MORE: Australia's youngest senator's jaw-dropping salary By ZAK WHEELER, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 11:20 BST, 24 October 2025 | Updated: 11:27 BST, 24 October 2025 Senator Jacqui Lambie won't return to Parliament for the rest of the year after it was revealed she will undergo spinal surgery in a few weeks. The office of the Tasmanian politician confirmed on Friday that doctors had ordered her to take bed rest due to an ongoing injury she received while in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). 'Since August 2025, the condition of Senator Jacqui Lambie's back has deteriorated,' her team said in a statement, which was published by The Sydney Morning Herald. 'Her surgeon has confirmed that she will undergo spinal surgery in the coming weeks. 'Senator Lambie's doctors have ordered bed rest and minimal movement until the operation. Therefore, she will not be present in Parliament for the final sitting weeks of the year.' Lambie's parliamentary advisory team will be in Canberra for the sitting weeks to ensure that her work continues. Senator Lambie was medically discharged from the ADF in 2000 after she injured her spine during a field exercise. She spent about seven years embroiled in a court battle against the Department of Veterans' Affairs, which tried to argue that she wasn't injured - despite her crippling pain. Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie (pictured) will undergo spinal surgery in a few weeks Doctors have ordered her to make minimal movements due to a deterioration of an injury (pictured arriving for the 2025 Midwinter Ball at Parliament House, Canberra, on August 27) Lambie eventually won the case, but lost almost everything in the process - living on welfare, a single mum with two children, suicidal and addicted to painkillers. Recently she has been focused on pushing the Albanese government to adopt all 122 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The issue is one close to the politician's heart following her own injury and subsequent struggle with her mental health. The challenges she faced after being discharged were recorded in the book Profiles In Hope by former Liberal MP John Brogden, released in September last year. 'The reason I had the depression was the pain. I just couldn't deal with it,' she told Mr Brogden. 'By the middle of August 2009 I couldn't live with the pain any more. I'd had enough. I left the kids some letters.' Lambie said the letters were written three weeks beforehand because she knew she was going to try to take her own life, but hadn't worked out how. After her attempt, she woke up in hospital and found out she had been in an induced coma for 48 hours. 'I had my two sons standing there and my father. And the looks on their faces, I'll never forget it. It was ghastly. They were like, "Why?",' she recalled. She said her life completely changed once she was admitted to a psychiatric ward and received the pain treatment she needed. 'Once I got [the pain] under control, the depression just lifted,' she said. Lambie has previously said she entered politics because she didn't want anyone else to struggle the way she did. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 Share or comment on this article: Senator Jacqui Lambie sidelined from Parliament for MONTHS as she reveals major health setback Add comment