Kenyan-born lawyer Lucy Gichuhi will be sworn in as an Australian senator when parliament resumes, a full bench of the High Court has confirmed.
Ms Gichuhi was elected in a recount of South Australian Senate votes after the court ruled her Family First predecessor Bob Day was invalidly elected under the Constitution.
Ms Gichuhi was listed as Family First's second candidate on the ballot paper in the 2016 election.
Speaking in Adelaide on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Gichuhi said she was humbled to represent South Australians.
"I could not have imagined that nearly 20 years ago that as a new Australian I would one day have the opportunity to serve this nation as a senator," she told reporters.
Ms Gichuhi said Australian politics was polarised and she would bring a "conciliatory" approach.
"While my values will never change, my approach to matters before the Senate will be to take the best possible advice from all corners before finalising a position," she said.
The court had been considering a late challenge by Labor that sought to challenge Ms Gichuhi's eligibility on the grounds that she might still hold a Kenyan citizenship, saying "the last thing the country needs is a re-run of the Bob Day disaster".
Dual-citizens are not allowed to become senators.
But the court rejected that challenge.
The Commonwealth's lawyer, Stephen Donaghue, said Kenyan law automatically invalidated once a person was over 21 years old and had taken up citizenship in another country, according to the ABC. Ms Gichuhi arrived in Australia in 1999.
In an interview with SBS earlier this month, Ms Gichuhi said she would "love to serve" as a senator, and planned to "bring a bit of a difference".
She said she wanted to be an example to growing migrant communities in South Australia that "you can be truly Australian, and feel Australian, and be Australian, and act like an Australian."
"I’m Australian, for the last 20 years, So that is what I’m talking about. I need to...feel and act like an Australian because I’m here for the long haul," she said.
"And so are so many people who have come here, from whichever part of the world. It doesn’t have to be Africa."
The Turnbull Government found a reliable crossbench ally in Bob Day, who generally voted in favour of Coalition legislation.
Ms Gichuhi said she "learnt a lot" from Senator Day, but would not be drawn on whether she would be likely to support government bills.
Introducing Lucy Gichuhi
"That’s not something I can say a ‘yes’ to or a ‘no’ to," she said.
"I would just be independent-minded and review situations and legislation as they come."
The Attorney-General has confirmed the new South Australian senator will be formally sworn in when parliament resumes for the Budget on May 9.
