Quietly, the battle for a crucial federal seat is being war-gamed by political forces, preparing for a by-election that might never take place.

The likelihood of a fresh poll in the north-western New South Wales seat of New England is heavily caveated.

It depends on the outcome of High Court proceedings in mid-October considering whether Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is ineligible to sit in Parliament because he was also a Kiwi when he stood for election last year.

Under Section 44 of the constitution, foreign nationals cannot be elected to the Australian parliament.

The Government only holds a one-seat majority in the Lower House. If Mr Joyce was to lose in a by-election, his Government could be facing the prospect of a hung parliament.

Is there an alternative?

Mr Joyce won convincingly at the last election. It is unclear whether he would face any serious competition in a by-election scenario.

Most political players contacted by the ABC stressed they did not want to second guess the High Court's ruling, but behind closed doors preparations are being made.

Tony Windsor held the seat of New England from 2001 to 2013. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty )

The former independent local member Tony Windsor said he was still interested in politics and was considering his options.

"I think it's pre-empting a lot of things to make a decision at the moment. A lot of it will depend on what the High Court does," he told the ABC.

"But I don't think the fire has gone out in terms of some of the policy issues that I've always stood for. In fact, I think they're more important now than they've ever been."

Mr Windsor held the seat from 2001 to 2013 when he stepped down citing family and health reasons.

He returned to politics last year, standing against Mr Joyce, but his performance fell short of expectations.

In the two-party preferred stakes he managed 41.5 per cent of the vote, with Mr Joyce being re-elected with 58.5 per cent support.

Mr Windsor has joined the High Court action against the Deputy Prime Minister and is being represented by Ron Merkel QC.

What about the other political forces that could be in play?

Labor traditionally runs a local candidate with little prospect of becoming a serious challenger, effectively vacating the field for Mr Windsor.

This time around there is talk of a candidate from Armidale, as the university town is considered a more Labor-friendly stronghold. Opposition senator Sam Dastyari has also just returned from a lightning trip to Tamworth and Armidale.

He conducted some soft diplomacy with "politics in the pub" events designed to attract Labor supporters.

Mr Joyce could also be faced with a contest on the right flank. One Nation is considering its options.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation party is keeping a close eye on proceedings in New England. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

A spokesman for the party said the "prospect is real, but until the High Court makes its decision we are not speculating as to what the future will hold for New England".

The spokesman mentioned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson made a recent low-profile trip to Armidale and the small town of Quirindi in the electorate.

While the Shooters, Farmers and Fishers Party wrested the regional state seat of Orange from the Nationals last year, it has laughed off suggestions it would consider a federal tilt in New England.

Another possible contender some Nationals have expressed concern about is the head of the National Farmers Federation, Fiona Simson, but she told the ABC she was "not interested and very happy doing what [she was] doing".

The seat includes areas riven with agricultural and commercial complexity. The politics of water usage and ownership is a big issue, and renewed fears of widespread drought conditions will only ratchet up local animosities over environmental protection versus potential mining projects that could create jobs and bring cash injections to ailing country towns.

The Greens are preparing to run a candidate but, at the last federal election, high school teacher Mercurius Goldstein only managed to secure 2.9 per cent of the primary vote.

How much would the Government throw at New England?

Mr Joyce is the only one of the seven caught up in the citizenship debacle who sits in the Lower House. The rest, if found ineligible, can be replaced by other party representatives and will not alter the makeup of the Senate.

Labor is already accusing the government of pork barrelling in New England, particularly on roads infrastructure. The Opposition said a number of roads projects within the electorate have been fast-tracked in the lead up to the High Court action that were funded as far back as the 2013 Labor budget and were left to languish under the Coalition.

In Parliament, Mr Joyce brushed off Labor's accusations of election sweeteners. Speaking at a local announcement in New England on Friday he said he was not in campaign mode.

"I'll keep on doing my job and I'll let the High Court do its job," he said.

"I'll respect their verdict whatever it is."

Mr Joyce said he relied on the advice of the Government's senior lawyer, the Solicitor-General, to guide him.

"If he came out and said, 'oh mate you're for the high jump' I would have gone straight to a by-election. I wouldn't have hung around," he said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also expressed absolute confidence the High Court will not strip Mr Joyce of the seat.

"The Government is very confident that the court will not find the Member for New England is disqualified from being a member of this house," Mr Turnbull, who is himself a lawyer, told Parliament last month.

"Very confident indeed."

Mr Turnbull left the chamber in no doubt about his view of the outcome of the case.

"The Leader of the National Party, the Deputy Prime Minister is qualified to sit in this house and the High Court will so hold," he said.

Constitutional lawyer George Williams has already warned the Prime Minister may live to regret that statement.

In an opinion piece for Fairfax newspapers George Williams has written that it's "far from clear that the High Court will decide in Joyce's favour".

If a by-election is held, Mr Joyce will have the heft and spending power of the government behind him. He will have the title of Deputy Prime Minister to tantalise voters. He will probably have the backing of mining industry magnate Gina Rinehart, who has been a big supporter, even attending a previous election-night party.

Mr Joyce would also have the Government's energy campaign to run on, which could have cut through in an electorate with growing concerns about renewed drought conditions and where power bills are biting.

Could Tony Windsor present a serious challenge to the Deputy PM this time around? ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts )

But the Deputy Prime Minister is also fighting off critics of the Government's management of water policy in the Murray-Darling Basin and there are country farmers and communities that have switched over to renewables in a big way. Perceived bungling of the NBN rollout in parts of New England could also work against him.

Mr Windsor has identified those areas as policy weak points he could exploit, but Government MPs believe Mr Windsor's support of the former Gillard government in a previous hung parliament fell flat with the electorate and swinging voters will not want to see a repeat.

For now, the Government has to wait for the court process, while political foes feel buoyed by the uncertainty. Many of those with skin in this game question why Mr Joyce did not just stand down and go straight to the voters in a by-election as soon as his New Zealand heritage was revealed, rather than providing detractors time to get organised for a campaign.