Labor said Victoria’s lobbying rules were too weak. Then it abandoned plans to strengthen them

Labor drafted and then abandoned laws to crack down on political lobbying, leaving Victoria with what experts say are some of the weakest rules in the country to manage corruption and influence over state and local government decision-making.

Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson have both refused ahead of the November 28 election to commit to implementing new lobbying laws, despite a string of integrity scandals centred on inappropriate influence.

The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission called in 2022 for Victoria to strengthen its “very limited” lobbying rules by enshrining them in legislation, establishing a dedicated regulator and forcing lobbyists to publicly report their meetings with government officials.

While NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia all have laws that include financial penalties for breaches and stronger transparency provisions, Victoria regulates lobbyists working on behalf of third parties through a code of conduct and a public register.

Only Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory had weaker laws than Victoria, according to a 2025 analysis by Transparency International Australia.

The state government supported IBAC’s recommendations to strengthen rules in principle in 2022, and in January 2025, it launched public consultation on lobbying legislation. A discussion paper acknowledged Victoria’s lobbying rules were needed to “ensure transparent and equitable access” to government decision makers and prevent those with significant wealth obtaining a “monopoly of influence”.

But documents obtained by the Australian Democracy Network through a freedom-of-information request show that by March this year, work on the laws had ground to a halt.

Emails between bureaucrats in the Department of Premier and Cabinet – which was then working under premier Jacinta Allan – show that a year earlier, in March 2025, the department was preparing “drafting instructions for the lobbying reform bill”. By September, deputy secretary Jason Loos recommended a “lobbying regulator” brief for departmental approval.

But by March 2026, the brief was marked “No Further Action”, leaving the reforms in limbo.

“Without legislation, meaningful sanctions and an independent regulator that’s actually empowered to enforce them, the Victorian rules are barely worth the paper they’re written on,” Australian Democracy Network senior campaigner Christian Slattery said.

He noted that lobbying reform was particularly important in an election year, and called on Carroll, who replaced Allan in July, and Wilson to both commit to implementing IBAC’s recommended changes.

Slattery said the absence of laws and enforcement left Victoria vulnerable to a “vast array of unethical and corrupt conduct”.

IBAC has undertaken several investigations where inappropriate lobbying activities may have distorted government decisions.

These include Operation Sandon, which found property developer John Woodman “bought access to decision-makers”, and Operation Clara, which found former Labor minister Theo Theophanous misused his position on the board of the Victorian Planning Authority to advance his unregistered lobbying business.

Currently, Victoria’s Public Sector Commission can only deregister a lobbyist who breaks the Lobbyist Code of Conduct, which Slattery said was not a deterrent given there are no penalties for engaging in unregistered lobbying.

Lobbyists in NSW, Queensland and South Australia can be fined for breaking lobbying rules, and in South Australia they can also face criminal penalties. NSW has also recently announced it will further strengthen its laws.

While Victorian government ministers must disclose meetings with lobbyists in their published diaries, registered lobbyists in Queensland and South Australia must themselves publish contact logs detailing all meetings they have with government officials and what they discussed.

Carroll told The Age he would consider establishing a new lobbyist regulator, and pointed to his record on integrity since taking over as party leader this year.

“I called a royal commission into the construction sector on my first day as premier,” he said. “IBAC now has strong follow-the-money powers, and ministers are now required to disclose and publish their meetings with lobbyists.”

Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell will on Tuesday announce the minor party’s policy to establish a lobbyist register and ban political donations from gambling companies, fossil fuel companies and property developers.

She said Victoria’s laws were lagging and required updating to prevent vested interests having undue influence over the government of the day.

“These corporations don’t hand over thousands of dollars out of the goodness of their hearts. They expect something in return, and it’s everyday Victorians who end up paying the price,” Sandell said.

The Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria announced on Monday that it would hold its first block of public hearings from November 9 to November 20.

The Coalition was contacted for comment.

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