WHAT IS THE REGISTER OF LOBBYISTS?

WHAT IS THE REGISTER OF LOBBYISTS?

The Australian Government Register of Lobbyists is administered by the Attorney-General's Department under the Lobbying Code of Conduct.

Third-party lobbyists must register themselves and their clients before contacting Australian Government representatives on behalf of those clients, unless an exemption applies.

WHAT INFORMATION CAN THE REGISTER SHOW?

The Register can provide information about:

• lobbying organisations and their business details
• registered lobbyists working for an organisation
• clients represented by the lobbyist
• former Australian Government representatives registered as lobbyists
• historical lobbyist, client and organisation information

This can help researchers identify publicly disclosed relationships between lobbying organisations, registered lobbyists and their clients.

WHAT COUNTS AS LOBBYING?

Under the Lobbying Code of Conduct, lobbying involves communications intended to influence federal government decision-making. This can include decisions about legislation, government policy, programs, contracts, grants and funding.

The Register applies to third-party lobbyists acting for clients. It does not provide a complete record of every person, organisation or interaction seeking to influence government decision-making.

WHAT DOES THE REGISTER NOT SHOW?

The Register does not record every meeting, communication or outcome of a lobbying activity. It also does not generally apply to in-house lobbyists, charities, religious organisations, member-based associations or professional service providers making occasional representations incidental to their work.

The federal Register does not replace state and territory lobbying registers. A listing on the Register does not, by itself, indicate improper conduct or a breach of any law or code.

WHY THE REGISTER MATTERS

The Register is valuable for government affairs teams, lawyers, procurement professionals, M&A teams, investment analysts, compliance teams, journalists and policy researchers.

It can provide useful context when researching an organisation's government relationships, policy interests, procurement activity, funding connections or public affairs strategy.

HOW DATAV3 HELPS

DATAV3 brings millions of records from more than 50 Australian government and public sources into one search workflow. Search lobbying records alongside government contracts, GrantConnect awards, court filings, ASIC records, parliamentary material and other relevant datasets.

This helps researchers investigate organisations, public policy, government activity and commercial relationships with broader context.

USED BY PEOPLE WHO FIND THINGS FIRST

DATAV3 is used by award-winning journalists from 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC Radio, A Current Affair, the Australian Financial Review, Four Corners, Nine News and The 7.30 Report.

Lawyers, regulators, investment banks, politicians and organisations also use DATAV3 to find public records, monitor developments and investigate what matters.

OFFICIAL SOURCE

Attorney-General's Department: Australian Government Register of Lobbyists ↗

Last reviewed: 7 September 2026