Christmas well-wishes expected as MPs mark final sitting day

Christmas well-wishes and messages of charity are expected from MPs making their final speeches to parliament for the sitting year.

The lower house is also likely to be especially rowdy on Thursday with eager MPs keen to knock off after question time for their two-month Christmas break.

All eyes will be on Speaker Bronwyn Bishop to see what number of booted out MPs she'll round off the sitting year with.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will return to the chamber after leaving their deputies in charge on Wednesday as they attended cricketer Phillip Hughes' funeral.

Labor is expected to continue the attack on the government's higher education reforms and the budget.

At the start of the week, the federal government hoped it was edging closer to a deal on its higher education changes before Christmas, but failed to get it through the Senate.

Parliament will return on February 9, 2015, when Education Minister Christopher Pyne hopes MPs will have had time to reconsider his revamped bill.