The Public Ledger

Legislative Council · Northern Victoria Region

Gaelle Broad

Last verified 30 Sept 2026

NationalIncumbent · seeking re-election
Candidate photo — pending
Seat context — Northern Victoria Region›
Illustration pending

Northern Victoria elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts across north-central Victoria — Benambra, Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Eildon, Euroa, Macedon, Mildura, Murray Plains, Ovens Valley, Shepparton and Yan Yean. A bill abolishing group voting tickets for the Council has passed the Assembly and is before the Legislative Council's 11–13 August sitting.

Identity & ballot position§ 01
House
Legislative Council
Seat
Northern Victoria Region
Incumbent
Yes — since 26 Nov 2022 Sitting Nationals MLC for Northern Victoria since 26 November 2022, succeeding Tania Maxwell per Wikipedia. RReported — WP-GBWikipedia, "Gaelle Broad"View source
Party
National
Ballot position
Not yet assigned
Group ticket order
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
§ 02

Background

Occupation / profession
Managed a team at a major regional bank handling industry programs and disaster recovery funding before parliament. SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source
Prior public roles
Worked in local, state and federal government, including in the offices of former Treasurer Peter Costello and Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie, and was an ABC radio presenter. SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source
Local ties
Grew up on a third-generation farm in the Yarra Valley, and her electorate office is at Queen Street, Bendigo. SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source
Education
Holds a Graduate Diploma in Communications from Monash University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Melbourne. SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source
§ 03

Platform

Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.

Stated top campaign priorities

Regional growth, business development, education, healthcare, community advocacy and government transparency and accountability.

SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source

What Victorians say matters most

5 poll-led issues

Cost 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

iWhat this coversPosition on everyday household costs — groceries, utilities, insurance, transport.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Crime and community safety

iWhat this coversPosition on crime rates, policing and community safety, including youth crime and bail law.
Candidate’s priority1 / 10

The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule.

RReported — ABC-BAIL-2026ABC News, "Victorian opposition announces bail, sentencing policy including 'one strike' bail rule"View source

Housing affordability and supply

iWhat this coversPosition on home ownership costs, rental affordability, and housing supply/planning.
Candidate’s priority1 / 10

The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison.

RReported — UFINANCIAL-HOUSINGUFinancial, "Victoria State Election 2026: which housing policies are the best?"View source

State government debt and fiscal management

iWhat this coversPosition on debt levels and what they mean for future taxes and service funding.
Candidate’s priority3 / 10

Names government transparency and accountability among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source

Infrastructure and public transport delivery

iWhat this coversPosition on congestion, commute reliability, and cost/timeline overruns on major projects.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Also on the record

6 substance issues

These don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.

Education and training

iWhat this coversPosition on school funding and infrastructure, curriculum and teaching quality, university funding and research, and TAFE/VET.
Candidate’s priority3 / 10

Names education among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source

Health and healthcare access

iWhat this coversPosition on hospital and clinic funding, GP/specialist access and wait times, and ambulance performance including ramping.
Candidate’s priority3 / 10

Names healthcare among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source

Urban planning and housing density

iWhat this coversPosition on zoning and density, heritage and consultation processes, urban sprawl versus infill, and access to parks and green space.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Climate and energy transition

iWhat this coversPosition on renewable energy targets, offshore wind delivery, transmission infrastructure, and the reinstated State Electricity Commission.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Treaty and First Nations affairs

iWhat this coversPosition on implementing the Statewide Treaty and the new Gellung Warl representative body, and on future local treaties.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Regional and rural Victoria

iWhat this coversPosition on water security, the native-forest-logging transition, road and service funding, and population decline in country towns.
Candidate’s priority6 / 10

Names regional growth and business development among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source

Local & party context

2 fields

Not 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.

Seat-specific issues
No region-specific project is named in the sources retrieved.
Party platform alignment

Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists her on the Coalition list for the Northern Victoria Region. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source

As a Nationals member her positions follow the Coalition's regional platform; her profile states no divergence.

V VerifiedS Self-statedR Reported— hover or tap any mark for what it means
§ 04

Track record & prior candidacies

Terms served
Member of the Legislative Council for Northern Victoria Region since 26 November 2022. SSelf-stated — PARL-GBParliament of Victoria, "Gaelle Broad MLC"View source
Portfolios held
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Notable votes, bills, committee work
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Previous candidacies
Was the Nationals' candidate for Bendigo East in 2018, receiving 16% of the primary vote, per Wikipedia. RReported — WP-GBWikipedia, "Gaelle Broad"View source
§ 05–08

Campaign, money & endorsements

Campaign logistics

Social
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Contact
gaelle.broad@parliament.vic.gov.au, 1300 423 553 (per her parliamentary profile).
How-to-vote card
Not yet published

Endorsements & Donations

Organisational
None reported in sources reviewed.
Individual
None reported in sources reviewed.
VEC disclosure
Not yet available.
Public funding

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.

As a sitting MLC elected in 2022, Broad met the "elected" limb of the test for that contest, so the Coalition campaign she was part of qualified for public funding.

Dataset housekeeping

Nomination status
Expected — Sitting Nationals member for Northern Victoria; listed on the Coalition list by Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table. No retirement signal was found. No VEC nomination lodged yet — nominations close 4 November 2026.
Last verified
30 Sept 2026
Sources
See the Source register below — every V/S/R mark on this page names its specific source on hover.

Source register

PARL-GB
Parliament of Victoria, “Gaelle Broad MLC” — Official record — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026
WIKI-2026CANDS
Wikipedia, “Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026
ABC-BAIL-2026
ABC News, “Victorian opposition announces bail, sentencing policy including 'one strike' bail rule” — News outlet — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026
UFINANCIAL-HOUSING
UFinancial, “Victoria State Election 2026: which housing policies are the best?” — Commercial commentary — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026
WP-GB
Wikipedia, “Gaelle Broad” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026