High-profile barrister Julian Burnside QC will run as a Greens candidate against Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the Victorian seat of Kooyong at the federal election.
Speaking on ABC News, Mr Burnside said he would contest the upcoming federal election despite making an earlier pledge to never stand in politics.
"I'm now at the point where I have seen how broken our political system is and I thought maybe this is a time when you have to get up and do something," he said.
"I think the key issues are real action on climate change, closing offshore processing ... One of the interesting things that I think is terrific about The Greens is that all the policies come down ultimately to concern about the individual.
"And I think that's something I believe very strongly."
Mr Burnside said he only joined the Greens Party within the past couple of weeks.
A Twitter account linked to the human rights advocate said earlier that the barrister was "very troubled by climate change and our mistreatment of asylum seekers. Worried about the level of dishonesty in politics".
The barrister is leading a class action against the Commonwealth of Australia on behalf of a group of refugees being held on Nauru and Manus Island.
The action, launched in December, claims they have been subjected to "torture, crimes against humanity and the intentional infiction of harm by the Australian government". 
Mr Frydenberg is already facing a challenge from former Clean Energy Finance Corporation boss Oliver Yates, who has named addressing climate change as his top priority.
Julian Burnside will announce he's running as a Greens candidate in the federal election on Tuesday. Source: AAP
The Treasurer is one of several government ministers at risk of losing their seats to high-profile candidates.
Former Liberal turned independent Julia Banks is hoping to oust Health Minister Greg Hunt from the Victorian seat of Flinders.
While Winter Olympic medalist Zali Steggall is taking on former prime minister Tony Abbott.
Former independent MP Rob Oakeshott is also looking to make a political comeback, challenging National Party MP Luke Hartsuyker in the New South Wales electorate of Cowper.
Additional reporting by AAP
