Prime Minister Scott Morrison was given little time to speak in question time, even from his own side, in his first video attendance on Monday.
Mr Morrison is quarantining for two weeks in The Lodge with two staffers following his trip to Japan.
While rules put in place to deal with parliament sittings during the coronavirus pandemic allowed MPs to call in from offices, the list of approved venues did not include the prime minister's official Canberra residence, which required a change on Monday.
"This is a small modification, essentially to allow the prime minister to attend and answer questions in question time today remotely," Leader of the House Christian Porter told parliament.
The change was made with Labor's agreement.
His first and only appearance was in question time when he was asked by Liberal backbencher Nicolle Flint about his recent talks with world leaders.
However, he faced audio problems.
"I'm hoping that is working," Mr Morrison said.
The prime minister often gets the lion's share of questions.
But Labor instead peppered his cabinet colleagues, especially Government Services Minister Stuart Robert, whose leather seat framed him just in front of Mr Morrison's image on the video screen.
"He's behind you," Labor MPs shouted as they asked the minister who had been initially responsible for the controversial robodebt scheme.
Australian Associated Press
