Legislative Assembly · District of Bentleigh
Tynan Putt
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Bentleigh›
The district of Bentleigh covers about 25 square kilometres of southern Melbourne, taking in the suburbs of Bentleigh, Hampton East, McKinnon and Moorabbin, plus parts of Cheltenham, Bentleigh East, Brighton East and Ormond. It is held by Labor's Nick Staikos, who won 58.04% of the two-party-preferred vote against the Liberal candidate at the 2022 election, a margin of roughly 16 points. Bentleigh has a long-standing reputation as a bellwether seat, having elected a member of the governing party in all but two elections in its history.
Background
A truncated Instagram post from his campaign account begins "I'm Tynan Putt, your Liberal candidate for Bentleigh. I grew ...", which suggests local roots, but the rest could not be read. RReported — PUTT-SEARCHTynan Putt campaign, "Tynan Putt - Liberal for Bentleigh (Facebook and Instagram)"View source
Grew up locally, in a family that has lived in the area for more than 70 years, and is raising three young children in Bentleigh. SSelf-stated — LIBV-TYNAN-PUTTLiberal Victoria, "Tynan Putt — Liberal candidate profile" (14 July 2026)View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
His campaign's Facebook page carries the slogan "Bentleigh deserves a fresh start".
Tougher laws and more police to crack down on crime, lower taxes to ease cost-of-living pressure, support for small business and upgraded local roads.
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Wants lower taxes to ease cost-of-living pressure.
Crime and community safety
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule and treat burglary, serious assault and attempted murder as adult offences.
Nothing on crime is attributed to Putt personally.
Will fight for tougher laws and more police, drawing on his police background.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison; nothing is attributed to Putt personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants upgraded local roads.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Bentleigh results; the Liberals' candidates were Asher Judah (33.3%) and Debbie Taylor-Haynes (36.3%). VVerified — WIKI-BENT-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Bentleigh"View source
No earlier campaign was found, so this appears to be his first.
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
Putt has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. The Liberals' 2022 Bentleigh candidate polled 36.3%.