The integrity risks associated with lobbying activity are well documented. The experience of anti-corruption and integrity agencies both across Australia and internationally is that those seeking to influence the outcome of government decisions sometimes employ improper means to achieve the ends they want. They may, for example, unfairly leverage personal connections or provide financial or political incentives to motivate decision makers to promote their private interests, rather than acting in a way which best serves the public interest.

This report examines corruption risks associated with lobbying and influencing activity aimed at public officials in South Australia and addresses how well the scheme of lobbying regulation, created by the Lobbyists Act 2015 (the Lobbyists Act) and the Lobbyists Regulations 2016 (the Lobbyists Regulations), mitigates those risks. Recommendations are made regarding the scope of the scheme, ways in which it might be reformed to better achieve its statutory aims, and other measures (legislative and administrative) which could be taken to mitigate the corruption risks associated with lobbying and influencing activity.

The report is based on work conducted by the Commission since early 2023 and makes 31 recommendations, including:

• Any reform of the lobbying regulatory scheme in South Australia (including administrative reform) should be approached with a view to ensuring consistency, to the extent possible, with other such regulatory schemes in Australia.
• Consideration be given to amending s.14 of the Lobbyists Act to clarify the prohibition on success fees.
• Tthe requirement to register as a lobbyist, and the obligations which flow from registration, be subject to appropriate exceptions based on a threshold test of lobbying activity (drawing on international examples in Scotland, Canada and Ireland). 
• Ministers and shadow ministers be required to include attendance at networking events, awards nights, political fundraising events and other like functions in ‘activity disclosure records’. 
• The lobbying regulatory scheme be extended to apply to local government.