Victoria’s public board appointments process must be examined

April 28, 2026 — 7:30pm

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Victoria has 843 public boards, comprising 6000 positions. The boards oversee everything from multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects, hospitals and cemetery trusts to health services and the pipes that deliver water.

Under the state’s Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines, unpaid community board spots are filled via a department on behalf of a minister.

Appointments deemed “significant”, such as the better-paid A and B boards, must go through cabinet. Under the guidelines, the Premier’s Private Office must also be consulted for appointments requiring cabinet approval and those considered “important or sensitive”.

The guidelines stress the need both for merit-based selection and for board composition to reflect the community.

Regrettably, as The Age has disclosed this week, the system is open to a creeping form of favoured patronage by the party in government.

The Age’s comparison of the 1800 A and B public board roles against a registry of 12,000 ALP members found a disproportionate ratio held by the party........

© The Age