Lobbyists would have to register and report every meeting
Senator David Pocock, who belongs to no party, wants the public to see who is pushing federal politicians, about what and when. His bill would also make ministers publish their diaries every month.
Official name: Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2025
- Staff who lobby for big businesses and industry groups would have to register. So would hired lobbyists.
- Lobbyists would publish a report every three months. It would list each meeting, who it was with and what they wanted.
- Ministers would publish their diaries every month. These would show who they met and what they talked about.
- Former ministers and senior officials would have to wait three years before lobbying on things they handled.
- The National Anti-Corruption Commission would make sure the rules are followed. It is the national body that looks into corruption in government.
Who it affects
- Professional lobbying firms: They would have to register, name their clients and who owns those clients, and report every lobbying contact.
- Big businesses and industry groups: Their staff who often lobby the government would have to register as in-house lobbyists.
- Ministers and assistant ministers, who are junior ministers: They would publish their diaries each month, including meetings their advisers held.
- Former ministers, advisers and top officials: They would face a three-year ban on lobbying about things they dealt with in government.
- Ordinary people and community groups: Writing to your MP, sending in a written comment or running a local campaign would not count as lobbying.
Lobbying rules cover few lobbyists
Independent Senator David Pocock brought this bill to the Senate on 12 February 2025. The Senate is one of the two houses of Parliament.
It is a private bill. That means a member of Parliament brought it, not the government.
Lobbying means trying to sway what the government decides. Senator Pocock wrote notes that explain the bill.
The notes say speaking up for a cause is a fair part of a democracy. But they say more people now worry about how much sway lobbyists have. They say lobbying must be more open.
Today, there is a federal code of conduct for lobbyists. It is a set of rules on how they must behave. It only covers registered lobbyists who work for outside clients.
It does not cover in-house lobbyists. These are staff who lobby for the business or industry group that pays them.
There is a list of lobbyists that shows their names and clients. It does not show who they meet or what they talk about. The senator says breaking the code has no real price.
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory already make ministers publish their diaries. No federal law does this.
Who counts as a lobbyist
Lobbying means any contact with a government person to sway a government decision. That includes laws, plans, programs, contracts and money.
A government person here means many people. It includes any member of Parliament or their staff, and any public servant or head of an agency. It also includes contractors and consultants working for the federal government, and members of the Defence Force.
A professional lobbyist lobbies for an outside client, or hires people who do.
An in-house lobbyist works for a group that meets one of three tests. The group spends at least $100,000 a year paying people whose job is mainly lobbying. Or it makes at least $5 million a year. Or it is an industry group.
The person must also spend at least 8 hours a month lobbying, for at least 3 months in a year.
Some things are not lobbying. These include talking to a group of MPs looking into an issue, or contacting your own MP. Answering a call for bids or for written comments does not count. Nor do local campaigns run by ordinary people.
Trade groups visiting from overseas do not count. Nor do doctors, lawyers or accountants who only lobby now and then as part of their work.
Lobbyists must register
It would be a crime for a professional or in-house lobbyist to lobby a government person without being registered.
The list would be online and open to the public. The head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission would run it on the website of the Attorney-General's Department, the federal law department.
It would show each lobbyist's name. It would say if they are a professional lobbyist, an in-house lobbyist or a former government person.
To register, a lobbyist would sign a statutory declaration. That is a written statement that it is a crime to make falsely. They would declare they have not seriously broken the law before.
Lobbyists must report changes within 10 working days. They must confirm their details each February and July. They must sign a fresh declaration each July.
The senator's notes say the bill limits two rights for lobbyists who are not registered. These are the right to free speech and the right to take part in public life. He says these limits are fair.
Every meeting reported
Every three months, each lobbyist would hand in a report that goes on the public list.
For each lobbying contact, it would list the topic and the result they wanted. It would also list each government person involved, how contact was made, the date and the people who did the lobbying.
Professional lobbyists would also name each client and its business number. If the client is a company, they would name who controls it.
Say a mining company hires a lobbying firm to push for a change to a tax rule. Under the bill, the public could see the firm met a minister's adviser on a set date. They could see what change it wanted, and that the mining company was the client.
Rules for lobbyists
Lobbyists must not act in a corrupt, dishonest or illegal way, or threaten anyone. They must take fair care that what they say is true. They must keep lobbying apart from any personal or political party work.
Before a meeting, a lobbyist must tell the official they are registered. They must say who their clients are and what each client wants to raise.
Lobbyists cannot give gifts or free meals and drinks to government people. Small, cheap thank-you tokens or free branded items are allowed.
A lobbyist cannot lobby someone they are close to, if that person could be expected to feel they owe the lobbyist.
Elections have their own rule. The rule runs from when the election is formally called until 6 months after. In that time, a person cannot both play a big role in a party's campaign and work as a lobbyist.
They can ask to have their registration paused while they work on the campaign.
Rules for politicians and officials
Government people could only deal with a lobbyist who is registered and has named their clients. If they learn of a broken rule, they must report it.
Nothing in the bill forces anyone to meet a lobbyist. It does not stop contact that another law says must happen.
Three-year wait after government
Right now, the code says former ministers must wait 18 months before lobbying on things they dealt with in their last 18 months in the job.
For senior advisers, top public servants and senior military officers, the wait is 12 months.
The bill would make this 3 years and make breaking it a crime. A former minister could not lobby on things they handled in their last 3 years as minister.
They also could not give a lobbyist advice about a department they ran. They could not use inside knowledge of projects or contracts for their own gain.
The same rules would apply to senior advisers to ministers and heads of agencies. They would also apply to top public servants and Defence Force members ranked Colonel or above. A Colonel is a senior army rank.
Ministers' diaries made public
Ministers, including assistant ministers, would publish their diary every month.
It must list all meetings about their job with outside groups and lobbyists. That includes meetings in person, video calls and phone calls. It also includes meetings held by their advisers.
The diary must say who was there and the main things talked about. It must also list events they go to as minister.
The government's public list of staff would name each minister's senior staff. Former senior staff would stay on it for 3 years, with the date they left.
Enforcement and review
Anyone with good reason to think the law has been broken could report it to the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission could look into a case on its own or after a report.
Breaking the rules could lead to fines. A lobbyist's registration could also be paused or cancelled.
The minister could also tell the commission head to do this. The minister would have to give reasons and let the lobbyist reply first.
Lobbyists could appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal. That is a body that checks government decisions, like a court but less formal.
Within 3 years, a panel of three experts who stand apart from the government would review the law. The public could send in written comments.
Current or former politicians, current party staff and lobbyists could not sit on the panel. A group of MPs and senators could block the minister's picks.
Waiting in the Senate
The law would start the day after the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General is the King's stand-in in Australia. It would only cover lobbying after that.
The bill died when the last Parliament ended on 21 July 2025. It was put back on the Senate's to-do list on 23 July 2025. The Senate began debating it on 4 September 2025.
It is still before the Senate. To become law, it would need to pass the Senate and then the House of Representatives, the larger house of Parliament.
Its journey through Parliament
| 12 Feb 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 12 Feb 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 21 Jul 2025 | Senate: Lapsed at end of Parliament |
| 23 Jul 2025 | Senate: Restored to Notice Paper |
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Second reading debate |