Most Victorian MPs and councillors taking part in a recent survey by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) believe that corruption is a problem in the state.
The ‘perceptions of corruption’ survey showed 81 per cent of responding MPs and 68 per cent of responding councillors thought there was a corruption problem in Victoria.
More than half believed corruption was a problem among elected officials.
The voluntary survey was sent to all Victorian MPs and councillors in March and April 2025, with 27 MPs and 192 councillors responding.
The results also revealed that 89 per cent of MPs and 57 per cent of councillors who responded believe their organisation is moderately or highly vulnerable to corruption.
IBAC prevention and communication executive director Dr Linda Timothy said the perception showed the importance of IBAC’s prevention and engagement activities.
“Hearing directly from MPs and councillors that the majority believe their organisations are vulnerable to corruption means IBAC has work to do strengthening corruption resistance in the public sector,” Dr Timothy said.
“Learning how they view their organisation’s corruption vulnerabilities, allows us to directly target those risk areas with support and prevention efforts.”
Among respondent MPs, 96 per cent believed ‘inaction’, such as failing to report wrongdoing, was the highest corruption and misconduct risk among elected colleagues. For councillors, 85 per cent of respondents reported ‘favouritism or nepotism’ as the highest risk.
“We know that IBAC has more work to do in educating and empowering the public sector, including MPs and councillors, to build integrity practices and ensure when these behaviours are witnessed or suspected that they know what to do,” Dr Timothy said.
“The findings from this survey, and previous surveys, allow us to prioritise our efforts and reinforces where IBAC’s resources are best focused to help build Victoria’s integrity.”
