In 2016, he was re-elected for a second three-year term with the second-highest vote tally of the five NSW candidates elected. In 2014, Murphy was preselected as the Labor candidate for the state electorate of East Hills, defeating Nicole Campbell in a rank and file preselection by 103 votes to 61 (weighted up to 73.2 under the ALP rules affirmative action weighting for female candidates). He was narrowly defeated by the sitting Liberal Party member at the 2015 New South Wales state election   In February 2017, he was preselected once again, unopposed, as the Labor candidate for East Hills at the 2019 New South Wales state election. In 2013, Murphy was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Awards 2013 in the "Community (Individual) Award - Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Award" category. In 2013, Murphy was made an Honorary Life Member of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties. In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to the community through a range of human rights and civil liberty organisations.