No lobbyist has been sanctioned under the federal government's code of conduct and transparency rules for nearly three years, despite more than a dozen breaches being substantiated. Critics describe the scheme as 'as weak as a cup of cold milky tea'. The federal attorney general's department confirmed 14 breaches since January 2023, but all were deemed administrative and resolved through engagement with the lobbyists involved.
In Victoria, no lobbyist has been sanctioned since the current regulator was established over a decade ago. The state's public sector commissioner, Brigid Monagle, said six potential breaches had been investigated in the past five years, but none met the threshold for removal from the register. The only available sanction in Victoria is removal.
Transparency International Australia's chief executive, Clancy Moore, said federal lobbyists breaking the rules 'do so with impunity' and called for 'a big stick to sanction lobbyists'. Crossbench MPs and the Greens have flagged pushing Labor to toughen the rules in the new parliament. One identified shortcoming is that the code only covers paid third-party lobbyists, not those employed internally by corporations.
The Centre for Public Integrity's executive director, Catherine Williams, said Victorian regulation was not fit for purpose and that a uniform national law would be optimal but 'a very long way off'. The Victorian government has accepted recommendations from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) and is consulting on possible changes.
Currently, about 360 lobbying organisations and over 700 individual lobbyists are on the federal transparency register, representing 2,400 clients. More than 40% are former government representatives. In New South Wales, six lobbyists were suspended last month for failing to provide required updates.
