Political lobbyists with unfettered access to Australia’s Parliament House will soon be publicly identified in an online register, along with the MPs who sponsor their passes. This change is part of a major overhaul of the parliamentary pass system, as reported by Guardian Australia.
New Rules for Lobbyist Passes
Under the revised policy, two MPs must sign for a lobbyist to register for a pass, with the primary sponsor taking responsibility for the lobbyist’s behavior. Fees will also be introduced for lobbyist and commercial passes.
A letter detailing these changes was distributed to federal parliamentarians on Thursday. The reforms drastically increase transparency, as previously the public had no knowledge of who sponsored a lobbyist pass or how many passes an MP had sponsored.
Current Pass Statistics
As of mid-2024, there were over 2,050 sponsored passes for access to Parliament House, though it is unknown how many were held by paid lobbyists.
Review Conducted by Parliamentary Leaders
The review of policies governing access to the building’s private areas was conducted by House Speaker Milton Dick and Senate President Sue Lines. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to them in March, suggesting greater “transparency and rigour” for sponsored pass holders.
In their letter to parliamentarians, Dick and Lines stated their commitment to “maintaining the democratic openness of Parliament House, while ensuring that access to the private areas is appropriately managed, transparent, and aligned with community expectations.”
New Pass Categories
The review has established new categories for sponsored passes: political lobbyists will retain orange passes, while commercial representatives and advocacy/community groups will apply for light blue passes. For commercial and community passes, the online register will include the names of organizations and sponsoring MPs, but not individual passholders.
Access passes for former parliamentarians from state and territory legislatures will now be restricted to former premiers, chief ministers, and ministers.
Restrictions and Sanctions
Orange pass holders currently have unescorted access to non-public areas of Parliament House, including corridors of MPs’ offices. Under the new rules, sponsored pass holders will no longer have access on weekends or between 11pm and 5am. Sanctions will be introduced for noncompliance.
Reaction from Crossbenchers
The changes follow a campaign by independents for greater transparency. ACT Senator David Pocock, who created an online public register last year, called the overhaul a “huge win” for lobbying reform advocacy. He noted that alignment is still needed between rules for in-house lobbyists and external lobbyists, as well as a system for publishing ministerial diaries or disclosing lobbyist meetings.
Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May described the changes as a “move towards the transparency people expect around access to Parliament House and decision makers,” but added that some lobby groups should be barred completely.
