What parties are promising in the 2026 Victorian state election

With Victoria's state election just around the corner on November 28, political parties are ramping up their promises to voters.

To help you keep up, we will be updating this story with some of the key pledges from the Labor government and Liberal-National opposition, as well as the priorities of One Nation and the Greens.

We're drawing on party announcements and the list being kept by Victoria's independent Parliamentary Budget Office, which you can see on its website in full.

As you will see, many of the government's commitments that extend into the next few years were unveiled in the state budget.

The Coalition has been rolling out a raft of more specific commitments as the campaign heats up.

Rising community concern over crime has formed a cornerstone of election campaigns for the major parties.

Labor has promised to swell the ranks of Victoria Police, recruiting 1,500 officers and opening a second police academy at Wyndham in Melbourne's west. Police numbers would also be boosted via a $62-million investment to recruit up to 200 reservists for desk duties.

If re-elected, Labor said it would increase jail sentences for offenders convicted of serious sexual offences, with maximum sentences of life for rape, and a standard sentence of 30 years for the murder of a partner.

The Carroll government has pledged to tackle organised crime with a new $170 million permanent unit. Some $66.5 million would also be invested in providing new technology for police, including tools to tackle cybercrime.

Labor has committed $10 million towards a Local Community Safety Infrastructure Fund for councils to buy CCTV and improved lighting, and $10 million for a Hospitality Security Fund to allow eligible venues to upgrade their security systems.

The Coalition has promised an even heavier investment in Victoria Police, pledging to reopen more than 40 police stations across the state and recruit an additional 3,000 officers to help staff them.

The hiring drive would also extend to Protective Services Officers (PSOs), with the Coalition promising to recruit 200 PSOs to patrol train stations, and a further 200 to patrol high-risk shopping centres and precincts.

The opposition said it would introduce new laws based on the United States' RICO Act to target the leaders of organised crime.

The bail system would be reformed under a Coalition government with a one-strike rule introduced for offenders committing crimes while on bail.

The Coalition would expand adult sentencing provisions for youths to cover 20 serious offences including arson, home invasions and carjacking.

To address youth crime, it has also pledged to invest $100 million in early intervention and rehabilitation programs.

The opposition would also outlaw coercive control, and introduce UK-style domestic violence disclosure laws.

The Greens are pushing for a $1 billion investment into a new Office of Community Safety and Crime Prevention, mirroring a policy introduced in New York City. The investment would go towards crime prevention, early intervention and diversion programs and 24/7 crisis outreach teams.

The Greens are also campaigning on repealing changes the government made to strengthen bail laws in 2025.

The party is fighting to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and eliminate life sentences for children.

It also wants to ban the police use of sniffer dogs for drug detection, and decriminalise personal use and possession of drugs in small quantities.

One Nation's policing policy would boost police numbers by offering sign-on bonuses for armed forces members, veterans and police officers from interstate and other English speaking countries. Accommodation allowances and on-call mental health support to police would be provided under One Nation's policy.

Under its proposed legal changes, children charged with a serious violent offence would be charged as adults, with the age of criminal responsibility returned to 10 years old. Parents would also be responsible for fines or damage caused by their children.

One Nation has outlined plans for greater investment in the court system, building three new Magistrates' Courts at Melton, Epping and Pakenham, increasing the number of active magistrates to 170 and doubling the number of judicial registrars from 18 to 36. It has also pledged additional funding for the Office of Public Prosecutions.

Under One Nation's reforms, a 24/7 bail court would be established, and a presumption against bail would be created for repeat offenders and those committing an offence while already on bail.

One Nation also promised to introduce UK-style self-defence in the home laws, and introduce a trial to legalise OC (capsicum) spray.

The election approaches amid protracted pay bargaining negotiations between the government and doctors and allied health professionals, with the medical sector calling for better staff conditions and greater funding.

Here's what each party is pledging on health:

Labor has made free dental the core of its election campaign on health. The Carroll government has promised to invest $230 million in 10 free public dental clinics across the state, with seven in Melbourne and three in regional Victoria.

The government would also spend $277 million on opening the new emergency department at Werribee Mercy Hospital, expanding the Angliss Hospital and Pakenham Community Hospital, and boosting performance at University Hospital Geelong, and hospitals in Craigieburn, Cranbourne and Mernda.

The Thomas Embling forensic mental health hospital would also receive a $125 million funding boost, while hospitals in Melbourne's west would receive $240.5 million to expand maternity delivery services with 32 new post-natal beds.

The Carroll government has pledged a $53.6 million boost to the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme, providing more funding for regional and rural Victorians travelling for medical care.

Labor has also pledged to make abortion care free if re-elected.

The Coalition has focused its campaign efforts on cutting surgery wait times at Victorian hospitals.

It has pledged $1.27 billion towards cutting the waitlist for elective surgeries, promising to deliver an extra 25,000 procedures a year, while also guaranteeing $99 million towards patient transit lounges in hospitals.

Regional Victorians have been promised major health investments, with $850 million pledged for a West Gippsland Hospital in Drouin East, $350 million pledged towards Wonthaggi Hospital, $180 million to upgrade Mildura Base Public Hospital, $100 million for Albury Wodonga Health and $45 million for Hamilton Base Hospital.

The opposition has also promised to build a new youth mental health facility in Parkville, offering $5 million to begin planning it, and has matched a Labor promise to make abortion care free if elected.

The Greens have pledged to fight to save health promotion agency VicHealth and introduce a policy mandating that 5 per cent of the current health budget is put towards prevention and health promotions. A further 3 per cent would be mandated spending on community health services.

The Greens have promised to invest $3 billion to open 20 publicly owned dental clinics and make dental care free for all Victorians.

If elected, the Greens would use influence in the next parliament to fight for $15 million towards providing greater access to abortion services and $10 million towards more publicly funded homebirth programs. The party's platform also calls for free and comprehensive abortion and contraceptive care to all Victorians.

It is campaigning on a drug harm-reduction platform, promising to legalise cannabis, expand legal pill testing and expand access to medically supervised injecting rooms.

One Nation has pledged to cut down on hospital administration and invest in more doctors and nurses with guarantees on minimum services and 24/7 emergency departments in regional areas.

The party's platform also calls for the introduction of nurse-led discharging and prescribing to increase patient flow, mirroring policies currently in effect in other Australian states.

It is calling for $136 million towards a families funding package, providing one-off payments to expectant mothers who choose private care, and fully funding out-of-pocket costs for those in the public system.

One Nation wants to abolish standalone DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) programs that do not demonstrate a necessary purpose and invest savings into frontline care.

The party said it would also seek to standardise electronic medical record systems across the state and make them interoperable.

One Nation said it does not plan to change abortion laws in the state.

The condition of Victoria's roads and the number of potholes around the state has been a major talking point on the campaign trail this year.

Here's what each party is promising to do if elected:

Labor has pledged to double the number of potholes fixed this year from 250,000 to 500,000 with a $352 million investment, while also piloting a program to have minimum-security prisoners perform roadside maintenance.

Billions have also been promised for major upgrades to roads and intersections in Melbourne's outer-suburbs.

The government would invest a further $550 million to upgrade the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs, $494 million to upgrade Somerton Road in Greenvale, $350 million to duplicate Hallam Road in Hallam and Hampton Park, $270 million to upgrade Findon Road in Epping, $195 million to widen Point Cook Road in Seabrook, $180 million to widen Evans Road in Cranbourne West, $170 million to widen Taylors Road in Kings Park, $90 million to replace a roundabout with traffic lights in Hoppers Crossing and $83 million to upgrade roads in Wyndham Vale.

Nearly $49 million would also be invested in motorcycle safety, introducing barriers and surface upgrades in parts of the state and strengthening the motorcycle licensing scheme.

The Coalition has promised to boost current spending on road maintenance by 25 per cent, pledging $5 billion to repair Victoria's roads.

The opposition said it would fix one million potholes and establish a new government body to handle the repairs.

Victoria's 48 regional councils have been promised $288 million to fix local roads and bridges at their own discretion.

The Coalition has also promised $524 million to duplicate Donnybrook Road between Woodstock and Kalkallo, where residents have told the ABC traffic is at a standstill during rush hour.

Another $607 million would be spent on duplicating Thompsons Road between Clyde North and Officer South.

The Greens have proposed bringing VicRoads back into government hands, diverting money saved into fixing the state's roads.

Five per cent of the existing transport budget would be dedicated to a network of safe bike routes across Melbourne and regional centres under the Greens.

The party will also seek to introduce 30kph speed limits in residential areas, extend truck bans in residential areas of Kensington, North Melbourne and West Melbourne, and double registration fees for vehicles with bonnets over 120cm wide.

One Nation has promised to publish the condition and funding of every major regional road and create a public pothole portal for Victorians to make reports.

The party has pledged to lock in ongoing funding for regional roads and fix the state's maintenance backlog.

Here's what each party is pledging for housing:

Labor has committed to building 26,500 new homes and reserving them for first home buyers at market prices. The homes would be built across Melbourne and major regional cities, with the first homes expected in 2027.

It has a longer-term plan of building more than 300,000 new homes by 2051 with its promised Activity Centres, which would see high-rise apartments of up to 20 stories built in inner-city suburbs.

Labor has also committed to redeveloping the cohealth site in Collingwood, delivering 69 new social homes along with renovating the health service.

The party has promised to roll back changes it made to land tax, progressively dropping it back to previous levels over the course of six years.

The Coalition has promised to axe Labor's proposed Activity Centres if elected, and said it would give locals greater voice in the planning system.

The opposition has pledged to expand Melbourne's Capital City Zone to Fishermans Bend, North Melbourne, Fitzroy and Collingwood to allow for more homes in inner Melbourne.

The Coalition would also reverse Labor's increases to land tax, promising to reverse the threshold for land tax to 2023 levels.

The Greens are advocating for $4 billion to be spent building 88,000 new public homes and upgrading existing public housing. The party would also block the current planned demolition of public housing towers.

The party has vowed to abolish street auctions for home sales, and require every home to be sold at a fixed price.

Stamp duty would be abolished for homes worth less than $1.1 million, and discounted for homes worth less than $1.6 million, under Greens policy.

The Greens have proposed a two-year rent freeze across the state, with a ban on rent increases in the first two years of every new tenancy. Rent rises would also be tied to wage growth or inflation.

The party's policy platform allocates $50 million towards establishing an independent rental regulator with a landlord licensing scheme.

One Nation's policy platform includes a review of every government fee, tax and charge related to the cost of a new home and cut ones no longer justified.

The party said it would raise the foreign purchaser duty on residential properties in Victoria.

It has pledged to free up granny flats and the rental of spare rooms without state interference, and mandate community consultation before high-rise development in established suburbs.

It said it planned to provide incentives for private and community organisations to deliver more low-cost housing and free up under-used government land for housing.

The Suburban Rail Loop has dominated the election campaigns of both major parties, with its significant cost becoming a policy battleground for Labor and the Coalition.

Here's what the major parties are promising on transport:

The Carroll government has committed to building the Suburban Rail Loop, but has promised to slash $1 billion from its budget by removing additions such as car parking at stations and pedestrian bridges.

It has also promised to commission an independent review to claw back another $1 billion in savings to bring the total estimated cost of the project to $32.3 billion.

Labor would spend $673.6 million to build 25 more X'Trapolis 2.0 trains, retiring older trains on the Craigieburn and Upfield lines.

Labor has also pledged to fund a $80 million study to investigate and plan the duplication of the Upfield Line.

The Coalition said it would pause and review the Suburban Rail Loop if elected.

It has promised to invest $1.7 billion in 25 new hybrid electric trains on the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines.

The trains they would replace would be reallocated to regional Victoria to boost capacity during peak times.

The Greens are calling for all public transport to be made permanently free, and have trams and trains run at least every 10 minutes from 7am to 10pm.

The party supports the construction of a second Melbourne Metro tunnel, reconfiguring the City Loop, electrifying the Melton line and fixing the Altona Loop.

It is pushing for $270 million to be spent upgrading the state's bus system, $245 million to run regional trains and coaches more often, and $225 million to build accessible tram stops.

One Nation will push to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop project altogether.

Instead, the party said it would like to redirect funds to other infrastructure projects, including electrifying the Melton Line and completing the Airport Rail Link.

School funding remains a hot button issue in the education state.

Premier Ben Carroll served as the education minister before rising to the top job, and oversaw protracted negotiations over teacher pay earlier this year. More recently, he signed Victoria up to providing its share of schools funding recommended in the Gonski report.

Now, the parties are pledging millions more towards schools in a bid to win over voters.

Here are what the parties have promised for the education sector:

Schools in Melbourne's north-west would receive a funding boost with $10.73 million committed to building a performing arts centre at Keilor Downs College, and $19.74 million to upgrade The Grange P-12 College in Hoppers Crossing.

Labor has committed $222.2 million to reforming the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, following production mistakes in recent years allowing high school students to access answers to their exams.

The Carroll government has pledged $59.4 million towards funding free school uniforms and school breakfasts for families under financial strain.

Labor has also promised to delivery the state's first publicly-owned apprenticeship academy, offering 2,000 electrical trade apprenticeships over the next four years.

The Coalition has pledged to build three new select-entry high schools, and transition six existing government schools to select or partial-select entry.

The opposition has committed $222 million towards building 10 new technical schools across the state, educating up to 5,000 students.

It would also direct $115 million towards a fund that would cover half the off-the-job training costs for Victorian apprentices.

It has also promised to introduce reforms to address classroom behaviour at Victorian schools, and review the curriculum to reduce teacher workloads.

The Greens have backed a policy to make public schools completely free by ending requests for voluntary contributions from parents.

The party said it would fight to make university free, and pledged to review the eight public university acts in Victoria. The Greens said it would ensure students and teachers were on university councils and introduce a cap on vice-chancellor salaries.

The Greens have backed embedding First Nations frameworks in early childhood education and exploring introducing anti-racism, social cohesion and inclusion programs into the Victorian curriculum.

One Nation's policy calls for the replacement of the current Victorian curriculum with "a clear, sequenced, knowledge-rich syllabus" prioritising literacy, numeracy, science, history and civics.

The party has proposed introducing a school vouchers system to allow families to choose between schools.

One Nation said it would expand dedicated trade schools while also making it easier for communities to establish independent, specialist and alternative schools.

The Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) high-voltage transmission line project has become a hot-button issue in the state's west, prompting anger from local farming communities. The issue has split the major parties, with the future of the project hinging on the election.

Here's what each party is pledging for the environment, energy and climate:

Labor has committed Victoria to an emissions target of net zero by 2045 and is rolling out transmission projects aimed at connecting renewable power generated in the state's west to the power grid.

But Premier Ben Carroll has announced an independent review of the cost of one of those projects, the Western Renewables Link.

The Carroll government has pledged to create a dedicated mineral resources royalties fund if re-elected, with $500 million to be raised over four years. All of the proceeds would be directed towards regional Victoria.

Labor has promised to introduce a 2km buffer zone between new waste-to-energy facilities and existing homes.

The Coalition has "no plans" to change the legislation setting down Victoria's target of net-zero emissions by 2045, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has said.

But it has flagged major changes to two of Labor's key renewable energy infrastructure projects.