I’m Tim Wilson, your local Liberal Member for Goldstein.

Prior to Parliament I served as Australia's Human Rights Commissioner advancing the rights and freedoms of every Australian. I ran for Parliament because our community needs an effective voice to deliver and influence Australia's future. 

Thanks to the incredible Goldstein community and its live-and-let-live worldview that values compassion, enterprise, responsibility, and mutual respect we've changed the direction of our nation together; and that journey isn't over. 

Outcomes matter. And whether it is delivering lower taxes, marriage equality, new energy industries, home ownership, or stopping corruption, I'll keep leading nationally and delivering locally so long as I carry the community's trust.

I am passionate about the community and its values to steer Australia's future. I’m the fourth generation of my family that has lived and worked in Goldstein, and since 2016 I’ve fought hard as its representative and a local small businessperson to ensure it has a voice to influence Australia. 

My career has been defined by moments where someone has had to stand up and take responsibility when it hasn't been easy. And that's what I'll do every day as the Federal Member for Goldstein.

Photo: Ryan and Tim in Hampton

I have lived in Melbourne all of my life, and most of my adult life in or around Goldstein, including in Glen Huntly, and Brighton and Sandy with my husband, Ryan. I was one of three children with an older brother and a younger sister.

My heritage is a unique mixture of Scottish, English and Armenian. My Armenian side comes from my mother’s father. Both sides of my family have Goldstein roots.  

My parents met at the Central Hotel on Church Street (it is called the Half Moon these days), and were publicans and ran small businesses. I grew up on top of pubs in Richmond and Little Collins Street. I was enrolled to go to St Leonard’s but when my parent’s divorced I moved to the Mornington Peninsula. I moved back to Melbourne to start at a degree in painting at the Caulfield Campus of Monash University. After a year I switched over to study public policy, got elected President of the Student Union twice and established a student-led gallery.

My career has not been straightforward. I've worked in international development across South East Asia, public advocacy on local issues through to the United Nations, run a small business and worked with startups, as well as capital raising, and worked on radio and as a newspaper columnist. Prior to representing Goldstein, I served as Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner working with asylum seekers, Indigenous communities and advancing equality before the law for everyone.

My electoral history has been a bit of a roller coaster. I resigned as Australia's Human Rights Commissioner to stand for preselection - a contest I was expected to lose, and then unexpectedly won. I was then elected with the largest majority in the seat's history. Two elections later I was defeated in the worst result in the seat's history for a sitting MP. I then recontested at the next election and was widely expected to be defeated. Instead I achieved an historic and unprecedented comeback against the odds and in an election that wiped out my Party. I was the only Liberal MP who took a seat at the 2025 election.  

My time in Parliament has been no less momentous. In my first full year in Parliament I was involved in major rebellions against my own government in foreign affairs and social policy. I was part of the gang of five 'rainbow rebels' that forced the government to resolve marriage equality, and in recognition my speech notes and the pin I wore on the day of the law's passage have been exhibited in the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. As Assistant Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, I passed laws to establish an entirely new renewable energy industry. 

As Chair of the House Economics Committee I oversighted implementation of the Hayne Royal Commission into misconduct into the banking and financial services sector, and exposed corruption in industry super funds - something I later paid a price for as super funds successfully worked to remove me from office at the 2022 election. And on the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee I was involved in the listing of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organisations. 

I’m passionate about economic reform and securing opportunity for the next generation of Australians. I’m particularly motivated to ensure every Australian can achieve home ownership, and it was a central theme to my 2020 book, The New Social Contract: Renewing the Liberal Vision for Australia.

I  have a Master of Diplomacy and Trade, a Graduate Certificate in Energy and Carbon Studies and a Bachelor of Arts. I have also completed executive education at Australian, European, and American universities in trade, carbon, economic development, and intellectual property.

But the most important person in my life is Ryan. Ryan and I met in 2004 and we got married in 2018. It took a little while to get married because we had to change the law first. Ryan grew up in Sandy and we are parents to a naughty pug. His name is Louis. Like all Parliamentarians we live half the year apart. Around half my year is based in Canberra. So we balance our time between our Bayside and Melbourne apartments because Ryan works as a teacher closer to the city. Thankfully we avoid footy disputes by both supporting the mighty Melbourne Demons!