Legislative Assembly · District of St Albans
Rob Dunstan
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — St Albans›
St Albans is a safe Labor seat represented by Natalie Suleyman since 2014, who is recontesting. She has held a mix of ministerial portfolios this term: Minister for Veterans, Minister for Youth, and Minister for Small Business from December 2022; she lost the Youth portfolio in an April 2026 reshuffle (gaining Tourism), then was reassigned again in an early-August 2026 reshuffle — after Ben Carroll succeeded Jacinta Allan as Premier — to her current portfolio: Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Minister for Small and Family Business, and Minister for Veterans. The Greens' Bao Huynh, New Democrats' Zaffer Mannan, Victorian Socialists' Leanna Nguyen, and the West Party's Luận Walker are also confirmed. The Tally Room's 2026 candidate list (checked 2026-09-24) also shows Rob Dunstan (Liberal) and John Cowell (One Nation).
Background
Says he "has seen firsthand the impact of rising crime in our community." SSelf-stated — LV-DUNSTAN-BIOLiberal Victoria, "Rob Dunstan — Liberal for St Albans (candidate profile)" (20 Aug 2026)View source
The profile gives no suburb, years of residence, school or community group. SSelf-stated — LV-DUNSTAN-BIOLiberal Victoria, "Rob Dunstan — Liberal for St Albans (candidate profile)" (20 Aug 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.
Says "we must reduce crime in our communities to allow Victorians to thrive and businesses to grow."
Says he is "passionate about lowering costs to take the pressure off local families and businesses in St Albans."
Says he wants to be "a strong voice for St Albans" and deliver "a Fresh Start for Victoria with our plan for reduced crime, lower costs and a government that works."
Backs the party's plan for 3,000 more police, stronger sentencing laws and a $50 per week toll cap.
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
Says he is "passionate about lowering costs to take the pressure off local families and businesses in St Albans through practical measures like a $50 per week toll cap."
The toll cap is a Liberal-Nationals pledge: $50 a week for two years from 1 July 2027 for cars, light commercial vehicles and small-business fleets of up to five vehicles, claimed as a quarterly rebate via Service Victoria.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): scrap the emergency services tax, exempt first home buyers from stamp duty up to $1 million, lift the land-tax threshold from $50,000 to $300,000 over five years, and scrap the schools payroll tax and the GP tax.
The same plan promises "no new or increased taxes."
Crime and community safety
Says he "knows that we must reduce crime in our communities to allow Victorians to thrive and businesses to grow," and that the Liberal plan will "keep Victorians safe with 3000 more police and stronger sentencing laws."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): recruit 3,000 more police (filling 1,500 vacancies and funding 1,500 more), reopen more than 40 police stations, and return PSOs to the 119 train stations where they were removed.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): "Break Bail, Face Jail": a one-strike bail rule for 20 serious offences, bail decisions for them moved to the County Court, and the youth exemption for breach of bail removed.
The same plan adds "Adult Crime, Adult Time" for 20 offences including burglary and carjacking, $100 million for early intervention, and a residential "Restart" program for repeat offenders aged 12 to 17.
Housing affordability and supply
No personal statement on housing found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): exempt first home buyers from stamp duty up to $1 million, set end dates for growth-area precinct plans, expand the Capital City Zone, and set clear timelines and fees for cultural heritage approvals.
State government debt and fiscal management
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): says the state carries nearly $200 billion in debt, and commits to balancing the books by 2032, freezing back-office hiring, and a legislated Charter of Budget Honesty.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
His only related statement is the $50 weekly toll cap; no road, rail or local project is named.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): $5 billion to rebuild and resurface roads and eliminate one million potholes, a new Better Roads Victoria agency, and duplicating Donnybrook Road.
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
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a Literacy and Numeracy Guarantee (an interim 15% rise in NAPLAN-proficient students and a long-term 90% goal), classroom behaviour reforms, and a curriculum review.
Health and healthcare access
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): paramedics in Triple Zero call-taking, extra PSOs for hospital security, published real-time ED wait data, elective surgery partnerships with private hospitals, and a $132 million Mental Health Early Access Plan.
Urban planning and housing density
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): restore local planning control and scrap Labor's high-rise activity centres in the suburbs.
Climate and energy transition
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a technology-agnostic Energy Security Requirement, "throw open the door" for gas exploration, scrap the gas-appliance ban in new homes, and halt VNI West and the Western Renewables Link pending a transmission review.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No personal statement found in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): the plan promises "stopping the $1 billion being spent on Labor's divisive Treaty."
The ABC reported in October 2025 that the Liberals would legislate to repeal Treaty within their first 100 days and create a First Nations Victoria department instead.
Regional and rural Victoria
No personal statement found; St Albans is a metropolitan seat.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a Fair Share Guarantee giving regional Victoria at least 25% of infrastructure spending, repealing compulsory land-acquisition laws for transmission lines, and restoring VCAT appeals.
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.
His profile names no specific St Albans site, project or intersection; his local pitch is crime and cost of living, framed around the Liberal plan. SSelf-stated — LV-DUNSTAN-BIOLiberal Victoria, "Rob Dunstan — Liberal for St Albans (candidate profile)" (20 Aug 2026)View source
The Liberals' 2026 plan does not mention Taylors Road, the Kealba landfill or Airport Rail, while Brimbank Council has called on the Opposition to match Labor's $170 million Taylors Road promise. VVerified — LIB-PLAN26, BRIMBANK-TAYLORSLiberal Victoria, "Our Plan to Deliver for Victorians (2026 plan, PDF)"View sourceBrimbank City Council, "Council welcomes Government's Taylors Road funding promise" (4 Sept 2026)View source
Runs as part of "Jess Wilson's New Liberal team"; both concrete policies in his profile (3,000 more police and stronger sentencing, and the $50 weekly toll cap) are Liberal-Nationals planks. SSelf-stated — LV-DUNSTAN-BIO, LIB-PLAN26Liberal Victoria, "Rob Dunstan — Liberal for St Albans (candidate profile)" (20 Aug 2026)View sourceLiberal Victoria, "Our Plan to Deliver for Victorians (2026 plan, PDF)"View source
He adds no personal mechanism and no point of divergence from the party plan; the comparison rests on one short profile. SSelf-stated — LV-DUNSTAN-BIOLiberal Victoria, "Rob Dunstan — Liberal for St Albans (candidate profile)" (20 Aug 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
First run for office found: no Rob or Robert Dunstan is listed among candidates at the 2018 or 2022 Victorian elections or the 2022 and 2025 federal elections. VVerified — WP-CANDS-2022VIC, WP-CANDS-2018VIC, WP-CANDS-2022FED, WP-CANDS-2025FEDWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2022 Victorian state election"View sourceWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2018 Victorian state election"View sourceWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2022 Australian federal election"View sourceWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2025 Australian federal election"View source
The 2022 St Albans result lists ten candidates, none named Dunstan; the Liberal candidate then was Maria Kerr. Searches were not exhaustive, so this means none located. VVerified — TR-VIC26-STALBANSThe Tally Room, "St Albans – Victoria 2026"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the VEC's own funding guidance for registered political parties (accessed 2026-09-24), public funding is paid to the registered party, not to individual candidates. The Liberal Party of Australia – Victorian Division appears on the VEC's list of currently registered parties (first registered 26 March 1985, re-registered 3 October 2024), and is eligible if at least one endorsed candidate receives at least 4% of first-preference votes or is elected.
The amount is based on the party's audited statement of expenditure, the votes its candidates receive and legislated maximums, at an indexed per-vote rate that the VEC's indexation page (accessed 2026-09-24) lists as $7.70 for lower-house candidates in 2026-27, up from $7.46 the year before. The VEC's funding page notes it is under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, so these rules may change before the election.