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Andrew Bartlett, likely to take former Greens senator Larissa Waters' spot, says he is waiting for the Court of Disputed Returns to officially make a ruling on Ms Waters' position.
Ms Waters resigned on July 18 after receiving legal advice she still held dual citizenship with Canada, where she was born.
The Green collapse
Richard Di Natale must be reeling after the seismic loss of deputies Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters and will now have to re-arrange the Greens landscape. Artist: Matt Davidson.
She did not officially renounce her Canadian citizenship – as was required by Canadian law one week after she left the country as an infant – and therefore could not hold a senate position.
Scott Ludlam also resigned a Greens senator the week before, telling reporters he held dual citizenship with New Zealand.
Mr Bartlett said he was concentrating on running the Queensland Greens' state election campaign, not his likely Senate appointment because he suspected the High Court's Court of Disputed Returns would take until September or October to make a ruling on him replacing Ms Waters as the Greens' Queensland senator.
"And I really have no say in that," Mr Bartlett said.
He said he doubted his career as a university lecturer at Australian National University would qualify him for disqualification for the Senate, given he had previously served 11 years as a Queensland senator.
The Constitution prevents anyone who "holds any office of profit under the Crown, or any pension payable during the pleasure of the Crown out of any of the revenues of the Commonwealth" from becoming an MP or a senator.
It usually refers to public servants who receive wages from the government. Universities receive federal funding.
Mr Bartlett said he was not worried.
"Every election there is somebody in the media who says there is a legal doubt because that's the way the law works," he said.
"But the reason it has not been tested is because the chances of it being successful is is so low, no one has challenged it."
He said his own legal advice showed his Senate claim was safe.
Mr Bartlett was a Queensland senator for the Australian Democrats from 1997 until 2008. He was leader of the Australian Democrats from 2002 and 2004.
He joined the Australian Greens in 2009.