Monique Ryan

Monique Marie Ryan (born 20 January 1967) is an Australian politician and former paediatric neurologist. She is currently the independent Member of Parliament for the Division of Kooyong, Victoria, having won the seat at the 2022 federal election and retaining it in 2025. Ryan completed her medical qualifications in Melbourne and Sydney, and Boston, Massachusetts, United States. She became director of neurology at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in 2014. During her medical career, Ryan has published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and supervised several clinical trials for neurological diseases. In the 2022 federal election, Ryan became an independent candidate for the Division of Kooyong; Climate 200 and a number of individual donors supported her. Ryan's campaign heavily focused on climate change, anti-corruption, and the Government of Australia's management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryan has been classified by the media as being a Teal independent. The campaigns of Ryan and her main opponent, incumbent Liberal member Josh Frydenberg, were estimated to have spent over A$2 million each. Ryan's campaign featured significant community involvement, with more than 1,500 volunteers canvassing the electorate and 2,000 individual donors. Ryan won Kooyong at the 2022 federal election with 52.9% of the after-preferences vote, and retained the seat at the 2025 federal election with a swing against her. Since entering parliament, Ryan has advocated for a range of issues, and proposed a private member's bill to improve integrity in government. She has been particularly vocal on issues of climate change, health, and anti-corruption policy. Ryan has also been prominent in calling for reforms in the HECS system, and created a petition on the issue that gained more than 260,000 signatures. Her proposed changes were adopted by the Albanese government in May 2024.