Replacing the abolished electoral district of Tea Tree Gully, Newland was created at the 1976 redistribution, taking effect at the 1977 election.[2] It followed a bellwether pattern until the 1989 election, where it was won by Liberal candidate Dorothy Kotz. Kotz developed a strong personal following and had little difficulty being re-elected until her retirement at the 2006 election. Her retirement and the landslide Labor victory across the state led to Labor candidate Tom Kenyon winning the electorate.[3] It became the Labor government's most marginal electorate at the 2014 election.
The 2016 redistribution ahead of the 2018 election changed Newland from a 1.4 percent Labor electorate to a notional 0.1 percent Liberal electorate.[4]
