Teal independents

Teal independents, also known as teals and community independents, are various centrist, independent or non-party politicians in Australian politics who have been grouped together for convenience of discussion by the Australian media and who have found electoral success contesting seats with a history of representatives coming from the Liberal Party of Australia. They have been characterised as strongly advocating for increased action to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions along with improved political integrity and accountability. They also generally share socially liberal outlooks, including on issues such as LGBT rights, while still retaining conservative fiscal policies similar to the Liberals. While formally unaffiliated, a study has found that the teals often vote in a bloc and show significant cohesion.

The colour teal has been interpreted by some journalists as a blend of the blue of the Liberal Party and the green of green politics, and was a dominant feature of campaign branding used by high-profile independent candidates Zali Steggall, Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Zoe Daniel and Sophie Scamps; however, not all candidates used the colour. The movement can be understood as ideological split from the Liberal Party – with inner city voters moving away from the party.

The most significant impact of candidates usually described in this grouping came in the 2022 Australian federal election, with 7 seats won in the House of Representatives and one Senate seat. The teals mostly consolidated their position at the 2025 Australian federal election, with Nicolette Boele winning the Sydney seat of Bradfield and Zoe Daniel losing the seat of Goldstein in Melbourne.