Kate Lundy became the youngest Labor representative in the Senate and the youngest women ever elected to represent the ALP in Federal Parliament when, at age 28, she was elected as the Labor Senator for the Australian Capital Territory in March 1996. In August 1997 Kate was promoted to the Opposition front bench, appointed as the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Tourism as well as assistant to the Shadow Ministers for Information Technology, Youth Affairs and the Arts.

She was appointed to the shadow ministry during the last parliament, and following the 2001 federal election became Shadow Minister for Information Technology and Sport. Kate Lundy is the youngest woman shadow minister in Labor history.

Kate is an active member of several Parliamentary Committees, including the Senate Committees on Finance and Public Administration, as well as Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Kim Beazley appointed Kate to the Knowledge Nation Taskforce which delivered its report in July 2001.

Kate Lundy is a passionate sportswoman who is an active participant in many sports, especially rowing. She is a member and patron of the Canberra Rowing Club, and patron of a number of sports organisations. Kate was awarded the Australian Computer Society's "Most Computer Literate Politician" Award in 1996. In November 1998, Kate was nominated by 'internet.au', a leading Australian information technology magazine, as one of the 20 most influential people in Australia with respect to the internet. Kate was the first federal politician in Australia to publish a home page on the world wide web, which she continues to personally maintain.