This bill is currently before Parliament.
Government & democracy
The bill would create a Commonwealth statutory scheme for transparency, integrity and honesty in dealings between lobbyists and government representatives.
The bill was introduced because its sponsor and explanatory memorandum say the current federal lobbying code is too narrow, too opaque and too weakly enforced. The explanatory memorandum says the current code applies to registered professional lobbyists acting for third-party clients but not most lobbying by businesses and industry bodies, does not give the public a consistent way to see who is meeting ministers, and relies on post-employment restrictions that it describes as unenforceable and consistently ignored. The bill responds by proposing a legislated registerThe public electronic register the bill would require the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner to establish for registered lobbyists and related information., quarterly lobbying returns, ministerial diaryA minister's monthly record of stakeholder, external organisation and lobbyist meetings and relevant events or functions, which the bill would require to be published. publication, post-employment restrictions and National Anti-Corruption CommissionThe Commonwealth integrity body that the bill would use for the Register of Lobbyists and for investigating alleged contraventions of the proposed Act. enforcement.
The bill sits in a wider debate about whether federal lobbying rules give the public enough visibility over who influences ministers and senior officials. The official explanatory memorandum says the current Commonwealth code covers only registered professional lobbyists acting for third-party clients, does not cover in-house lobbying by businesses and industry bodies, has no meaningful consequences for breaches, and does not create a Commonwealth legislative requirement for ministerial diariesA minister's monthly record of stakeholder, external organisation and lobbyist meetings and relevant events or functions, which the bill would require to be published.. The collected media context also includes reporting on OECD-standard concerns and lobbying-industry resistance to stronger statutory regulation.
The supplied local sources do not include an opposition speech, committee scrutiny report or recorded vote against this specific bill. The main criticism in the collected evidence is broader lobbying-industry resistance to stronger statutory regulation: an Australian Financial Review article says the Australian Professional Government Relations Association rejected Centre for Public Integrity reform calls and argued the centre was out of date with contemporary lobbying practice. The bill's own statement of compatibility also acknowledges that registration and reporting rules may limit freedom of expression and participation in public affairs, but argues those limits are reasonable and proportionate.
Monique Ryan MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from some crossbench members.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
226 days
Updated 10 June 2026.
Meaning
The bill would create a Commonwealth statutory scheme for transparency, integrity and honesty in dealings between lobbyists and government representatives.
It would expand federal lobbying regulation beyond third-party professional lobbyists by also covering in-house lobbyists, with thresholds for entities that spend at least $100,000 on lobbying-related remuneration, have annual revenue of at least $5 million, or are industry associations.
Professional and in-house lobbyists would generally be prohibited from lobbying government representatives unless they are registered or listed on the Register of LobbyistsThe public electronic register the bill would require the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner to establish for registered lobbyists and related information..
Registered lobbyists would have to file quarterly returns disclosing each lobbying activity, including the topic, desired outcome, government representatives involved, form and date of communication, and who directed or undertook the activity.
The bill would require ministers to publish monthly diaries covering stakeholder, external organisation and lobbyist meetings, and would require directory entries for current and former senior ministerial staffers.
Former ministers and senior government advisers would face three-year post-employment restrictions on lobbying or giving paid advice in areas connected with their recent official responsibilities, with 100 penalty units for the relevant offences.
The explanatory memorandum says the bill would allow alleged breaches to be investigated by the National Anti-Corruption CommissionThe Commonwealth integrity body that the bill would use for the Register of Lobbyists and for investigating alleged contraventions of the proposed Act. and would create sanctions including fines and suspension or revocation of registration.
A Bill for an Act to establish a scheme to promote and enhance transparency, integrity and honesty in dealings between lobbyists and Government representatives, and for related purposesLobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
A person is a lobbyist if the person is: (a) a professional lobbyist; or (b) an in-house lobbyist of an entity. ... incurs expenditure of at least $100,000 ... has an annual revenue of at least $5 million ... or is an industry association.Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
A person commits an offence if ... the person undertakes lobbying activities with, or in relation to, a Government representative ... and ... the person is not: (i) a registered lobbyist; or (ii) a listed person for a registered lobbyist.Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
For each of these lobbying activities, the return must include: (a) the topic of the activity and the desired outcome; and (b) the name of each Government representative the activity was with or relates to; and (c) the form of any communication ...Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
Before the end of each calendar month, a Minister must cause a copy of the Minister's diary for the previous calendar month ... to be published ... A Minister must promptly cause the name and contact details of ... each senior Ministerial staffer ... each former senior Ministerial staffer ... to be kept in the Australian Government Directory.Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
during the next 3 years for the person's financial or commercial advantage ... undertake lobbying activities ... relating to a matter that the person had official dealings with ... Penalty: 100 penalty units.Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) introduced bill text
It provides the National Anti-Corruption Commission with the ability to investigate alleged breaches of the legislation. It imposes sanctions for breaches including fines and suspension or revocation of registration.Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2) explanatory memorandum
Context
The bill sits in a wider debate about whether federal lobbying rules give the public enough visibility over who influences ministers and senior officials. The official explanatory memorandum says the current Commonwealth code covers only registered professional lobbyists acting for third-party clients, does not cover in-house lobbying by businesses and industry bodies, has no meaningful consequences for breaches, and does not create a Commonwealth legislative requirement for ministerial diariesA minister's monthly record of stakeholder, external organisation and lobbyist meetings and relevant events or functions, which the bill would require to be published.. The collected media context also includes reporting on OECD-standard concerns and lobbying-industry resistance to stronger statutory regulation.
Federal lobbying rules reported as falling short of OECD standards
A collected Australian Financial Review article reported that the Centre for Public Integrity said Australia's lobbying regulations fell short of OECD standards and should be extended to include in-house government relations advisers with stronger enforcement.
Australian Financial Review ↗Lobbying industry pushed back on statutory reform calls
A collected Australian Financial Review article reported that the Australian Professional Government Relations Association rejected calls by the Centre for Public Integrity for the federal lobbyists code and registerThe public electronic register the bill would require the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner to establish for registered lobbyists and related information. to be legislated and for a stand-alone regulator to have stronger sanctions.
Australian Financial Review ↗Explanatory memorandum describes gaps in the current code
The explanatory memorandum says the current federal code applies to third-party professional lobbyists but not most lobbying activity by businesses and industry bodies, and says there are no meaningful consequences for breaching it.
Explanatory memorandum ↗Monique Ryan introduced the bill in the House of Representatives
The APH timeline records the bill as introduced and read a first time, then having its second reading moved, on 27 October 2025 in the House of Representatives.
Parliament of Australia ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
The supplied local sources do not include an opposition speech, committee scrutiny report or recorded vote against this specific bill. The main criticism in the collected evidence is broader lobbying-industry resistance to stronger statutory regulation: an Australian Financial Review article says the Australian Professional Government Relations Association rejected Centre for Public Integrity reform calls and argued the centre was out of date with contemporary lobbying practice. The bill's own statement of compatibility also acknowledges that registration and reporting rules may limit freedom of expression and participation in public affairs, but argues those limits are reasonable and proportionate.
This does not prove the bill faced no criticism. It means the local source bundle contains limited criticism material and no recorded parliamentary opposition to this bill.
Lobbying-industry pushback on statutory regulation
A collected 2023 Australian Financial Review article says the Australian Professional Government Relations Association rejected Centre for Public Integrity calls to legislate the federal lobbyists code and registerThe public electronic register the bill would require the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner to establish for registered lobbyists and related information. and give a stand-alone regulator stronger sanctions.
Human-rights limits acknowledged by the bill materials
The statement of compatibility says the bill may engage freedom of expression and the right to take part in public affairs because it limits lobbying by people who are not registered or do not comply with registration requirements. It argues those limits are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Monique Ryan supported the bill as its sponsor, arguing that the current federal lobbying code is weak, narrow and poorly enforced.
Read in Hansard ↗Kate Chaney seconded and supported the bill, saying it was needed to make lobbying around ministers and cabinet visible.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
2 speakers · 2 support
“The bill that I'm presenting today, the Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025 (No. 2), establishes a new, publicly-accessible online lobbyist register, which will include in-house as well as third-party lobbyists.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I second the motion, and I'm pleased to again support the essential measures introduced in the member for Kooyong's Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
