National Lobbying Act to clean up politics

Two thirds of registered lobbyists in Canberra have worked in state or federal government, exposing a revolving door through which political insiders can move from public office into private influence with remarkable ease.

Dr Monique Ryan, Independent Federal Member for Kooyong, is set to reintroduce her private member’s bill to Clean Up Politics as the ‘invisible hand’ of political influence extends well beyond Parliament House.

The Australian Democracy Network’s recent report lays bare the scale of the problem. More than half of all ASX100 companies and nearly three quarters of ASX300 companies, representing more than $1.6 trillion in market capitalisation, are not listed on the federal Lobbyist Register.

The omissions encompass some of the country’s most powerful and politically active corporations, including major banks, gas and coal producers, gambling companies and airlines. Under the current rules, the regulatory framework applies only to third party lobbyists, leaving in house lobbyists employed directly by corporations and industry associations largely outside the same disclosure regime.

Saffron Zomer, CEO of the Australian Democracy Network, said that meant Australians had little awareness how these businesses engaged with government and on what issues.

“Lobbying is part of democracy,” Zomer said. “The problem is when corporate money buys a level of access and influence ordinary Australians could never afford. That creates an imbalance in whose voices are heard and whose interests carry weight.”

The report also documents an extensive ‘revolving door’ phenomenon, in which former government officials including ministers, assistant ministers, political advisors and public servants move directly into professional lobbying roles.

Of the 714 lobbyists actually listed on the federal register, almost two thirds (64%) are former government representatives. Yet nearly a quarter of those with government experience are not required to disclose it because the code’s definition of ‘government representative’ is too narrow to capture former politicians, political staffers and party officials.

That gap creates an obvious integrity dilemma. Nick Martin, who served as Chief of Staff to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler for more than three years, transitioned directly into the role of Head of Government Relations for Ramsay Health Care in mid 2026. Professor John Skerritt, the former head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), also moved from senior government service into Medicines Australia Board after leaving the regulator.

The trajectory of Professor Greg Hunt, who served as Federal Minister for Health from 2017 to 2022, provides another prominent example of the movement between political power and the corporate health sector. Since retiring from politics, Professor Hunt has transitioned into the corporate health and advisory ecosystem, with prominent appointments in DBG Health, Alvarez & Marsal Australia and HaemaLogiX. Because he waited out the mandatory 18 month post employment ban before joining these corporate boards and consulting firms, his career moves were entirely legal.

But legality does not necessarily extinguish the integrity question. Integrity watchdogs argue that Hunt’s firsthand knowledge of how the federal health budget, Medicare rebates and PBS approvals operate remains immensely valuable to the private corporations now paying for his counsel.

Dr Ryan said, “The Albanese Government has done almost nothing to improve transparency or accountability. Voters deserve better.”

One transparency reform was enacted in July, with Parliament making ‘access all areas’ passes tougher to secure, following advocacy by Independent ACT Senator David Pocock. But critics argue the change does little to resolve the deeper structural problem.

Benchmarking further compounds the criticism. According to Transparency International Australia, federal lobbying regulations lag behind those of all states on key transparency measures. On a 10 indicator framework scoring out of 100, the Commonwealth achieved the lowest score of just 17 for lobbying transparency, integrity and enforcement, with Queensland ranked highest, followed by South Australia.

The international comparison is even more uncomfortable.

Australia’s restrictions are relatively short and narrow by international standards. In Canada, ‘designated public office holders’ are banned from being paid to lobby for a period of five years. The definition of these public officials includes ministers, ministerial advisors and heads of government agencies. In the United States, a lifetime ban applies to all employees in the executive branch of government lobbying on matters they worked on ‘personally and substantially’ while in government, and a two year ban applies to a broader range of matters.

Against those standards, Australia’s regulatory framework appears comparatively permissive.

Recent polling by Australian Democracy Network found almost two thirds of Australians believe the political system is not working for ordinary people, and that the government is more focused on powerful interests than ordinary Australians.

That sentiment goes to the heart of the lobbying debate. Lobbying itself is a legitimate feature of democratic government. Industry groups, community organisations, corporations and advocacy groups all have a legitimate interest in presenting their arguments to elected representatives.

The controversy begins when access becomes unevenly distributed, when corporate influence operates outside meaningful disclosure requirements and when former public officials can move rapidly into private roles where their government experience becomes a commercial asset.

The Clean Up Politics Bill seeks to confront those vulnerabilities directly.

The legislation would create a lobbyist register with genuine regulatory power, capturing in house corporate lobbyists and industry associations rather than restricting scrutiny primarily to third party lobbying firms. It would also put a stop to the revolving door of ministers and senior public officials moving straight from government employment into the private sector to lobby parliamentarians, while armed with insider knowledge and contacts gained while on the public purse.

Another proposed reform would open ministerial diaries to the public, enabling scrutiny of who gains access to who and when, where, and why. The bill would also ban political donations from harmful industries like gambling and tobacco.

A National Lobbying Act would also transfer oversight of lobbying regulations from the Attorney General’s Department to an independent integrity body capable of overseeing the system and enforcing the rules. Such a regulator would need more than symbolic authority. It would need to be empowered to monitor compliance, investigate alleged breaches and impose meaningful civil and criminal penalties that serve as effective deterrents against misconduct.

Taken together, the Bill represents a more intrusive approach to political integrity than the current federal framework, shifting the emphasis from voluntary disclosure and limited registration towards enforceable oversight.

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