The Revolving Door

The Commonwealth lobbying register is fundamentally broken, capturing only third-party lobbyists while entirely ignoring in-house corporate operators.

If you hire a firm to lobby a minister, that firm must register. If you are Qantas, Woodside, or a major bank, and you hire a former Minister to work directly for you as 'Head of Government Relations', they do not need to register as a lobbyist.

The In-House Loophole

This loophole means that the most powerful and well-resourced lobbying efforts in the country operate completely in the dark, bypassing the rudimentary transparency mechanisms designed to track influence.

The Dark Money Estimator

Estimate the volume of corporate influence spending that is legally hidden from the Commonwealth Lobbyist Register.

Estimated Corporate Govt Relations Spend ($M) In-House Staff (Unregistered) (%)

Visible on Public Register ($M)

Hidden 'In-House' Influence ($M)

Interactive Tool Requires JavaScript

This calculator requires JavaScript to function. Below is the underlying formula so you can perform the calculation manually:

Hidden Spend = Total Spend × In-House Percentage

Demonstrates the absurdity of a register that exempts the largest corporate players in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are former politicians banned from lobbying?: Ministers face an 18-month 'cooling off' period where they cannot lobby on matters they had official dealings with. However, enforcement is effectively non-existent, reliant on an honor system.