Julian Assange supporters are confident Australia can place political pressure on US President Joe Biden to grant the Wikileaks founder a pardon before he leaves office.
Assange's wife Stella and his brother Gabriel Shipton were lobbying MPs in Canberra on Wednesday for support to put diplomatic pressure on America for a pardon to be granted during the dying days of the Biden administration.
Mr Shipton said time was running out for a pardon to be secured before Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January.
"The parliament was integral to getting Julian out and they were the key to unlock his cell basically and they can continue and finish the job and push for this pardon," he told AAP.
"There's a ticking clock going on for when the president can make the decision to pardon Julian."
The bid in federal parliament for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to call on Mr Biden for a pardon comes alongside a bipartisan push from US lawmakers to the president.
Democratic congressman Jim McGovern and Republican Thomas Massie have written to Mr Biden saying the espionage charges laid against Mr Assange had set a dangerous precedent.
"A pardon would remove the precedent set by the plea and send a clear message that the US government under your leadership will not target or investigate journalists and media outlets simply for doing their jobs," the letter said.
"The terms of Mr Assange's plea agreement have now set a precedent that greatly deepens our concern."
Assange landed in Australia in June after he pled guilty to spying charges after leaking troves of secret state information.
He spent almost seven years holed up in Ecuador's London embassy before being detained at a maximum security prison in the UK where he fought his extradition to the US.
The US Justice Department had asked the UK to extradite Mr Assange in 2019, which was during Mr Trump's first term as president.
Mr Shipton said there was concern a pardon would not be issued with Mr Trump being back in the White House.
He indicated Mr Albanese could hold significant sway with Mr Biden in securing a pardon for the WikiLeaks founder.
"When (Albanese) was advocating for Julian, a lot of the firewall was on the separation of powers and that we could not interfere with the US Department of Justice process," he said.
"Now that the process is at a conclusion, it really is in the power of President Biden to unwind this precedent that originated with the Trump administration.
"(A pardon) would be a real coup for the prime minister."
Mr Shipton said he hoped momentum could build from Canberra from MPs for the prime minister to take up the case with the US.
Following meetings in Australia, Mr Shipton said attention would shift to the US ahead of Mr Biden finishing his four-year stint as president.
