This briefing paper shows the extent to which those who lobby also donate to the major political parties, with some $43.5 million disclosed by the industry since 1998/99.

The Australia Institute has prepared this submission to the inquiry into access to Parliament House by lobbyists. The submission builds on the institute’s existing research on lobbying, including regarding the disclosure of ministerial diaries and proactive disclosure of representations made by lobbyists and trade associations.

The Electoral Review Expert Panel was appointed in May 2023 to review the operation of the Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Vic) (2018 amendments). This report outlines the findings from the review.

This research note outlines the Victorian system for regulating lobbying, and provides a summary of the issues most often discussed in relation to the risks of unregulated lobbying activity.

The authors of this paper argue that targeted reforms are needed to introduce transparency and diversity into federal political finance: disclosing political contributions in real time, publishing ministers’ diaries, stopping the very wealthy from dominating election spending, making public funding accessible to new entrants and restricting corporate cash-for-access payments.