Question time in the House of Representatives was suspended for about 40 minutes after about two dozen protesters interrupted proceedings with loud chants about Australia's treatment of asylum seekers.
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The group had linked arms, resisting security guards' attempts to remove them from the public viewing area, and also glued themselves to handrails.
They shouted "close the camps" and "bring them here", accusing the Coalition and Labor of being world leaders in cruelty.
About eight members of Parliament House's internal security detail grappled with the protesters, dragging them out one by one, as uniformed federal police took about 15 minutes to arrive on the scene.
In a rare move, Speaker Tony Smith rapidly suspended question time and three quarters of Liberal MPs left immediately. Labor, the crossbench and some Nationals MPs, however, remained in the chamber while the chanting continued.
They continued to protest when moved out of the House of Representatives chamber. In dramatic scenes, one woman was screaming "don't hurt me" as she was handled by two security guards.
An organisation called the Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance claimed credit. They disrupted a major economic speech by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in August.
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne described the occurrence as the "most serious intrusion into the Parliament since the riots organised by the ACTU in 1996".
Mr Smith said there would be an investigation and described his decision to suspend question time as a "last resort" in "extraordinary circumstances".
"Our purpose here is to conduct the business of the House and for the period of time we have been suspended, it's very clear we were unable to do that and the dignity of the House would have been severely compromised had we continued," he said when question time resumed.
