Fix Victoria Spent Near $100,000 on AI Election Ads in August

Fix Victoria spent just under $100,000 on social media advertising in August, roughly a quarter of all Victorian state election ad spend tracked on Google and Meta by agency Populares. Added to Better Victoria's $40,000 outlay in the same period, the two unregistered groups outspend the Liberals, teal independents and One Nation on those platforms.

How are the ads structured?

Fix Victoria's creative relies on AI-generated imagery: a machete-wielding petrol station robber, a woman giving birth roadside amid ambulance ramping, and a flood cascading down parliament steps that visualises Victoria's state debt. The May state budget forecast debt at $199bn across the next four years.

Head of advocacy Gideon Rozner frames the group as an "issues-driven, not politics-driven" organisation. Fix Victoria "is focused on the three key issues dragging our state down, that being crime, corruption and debt," Rozner said. Those three themes track the Victorian opposition's central talking points.

Corporate filings show Fix Victoria registered with ASIC in early August through Deborah Henderson, the Institute of Public Affairs' deputy executive director until June. Communications director Andrew Hudgson held the same title at the IPA until earlier in 2026.

Who is funding the campaigns?

A loophole in Victoria's electoral laws means neither group must register as a third-party campaigner or disclose donors, because the ads avoid naming any party or candidate. "Unless an entity meets the definition of third-party campaigner, no disclosure obligations apply," said Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity.

Clancy Moore, chief executive of Transparency International Australia, went further: "It's really important Victorians know who is behind these types of campaigns and what their political affiliations might be. There is a long history of third-party and fake grassroots campaign groups exploiting loopholes in electoral laws to try to influence elections."

Rozner declined to confirm whether he remains a Liberal party member after announcing in November that he had rejoined the party to support new leader Jess Wilson. "I've been around for a long time – and my views and affiliations are well-known," he said. Fix Victoria "invested considerable resources to ensure strict compliance with all relevant laws," he added.

What does the data show about the buy?

The Populares figures point to a benchmark for practitioners tracking political ad libraries: an unregistered group reached near-major-party spend within three months of incorporation without triggering disclosure. Individual Fix Victoria placements clear tens of thousands of dollars, including an AFL wildcard final spot on Channel Seven on 28 August during the Western Bulldogs versus Collingwood match.

Ed Coper, Populares director and a former adviser to Climate 200 and several teal candidates in the 2025 federal election, said the spending pattern signals operator-grade media buying. "The actual content of their advertising is very, very similar to the way that a political operative will message during an election campaign," Coper said.

Better Victoria registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria about a month after Fix Victoria, with first Facebook ads running in early August. Its secretary, Caulfield North lawyer Ronald Holzer, referred questions to an unnamed spokesperson, who said the group "obtained independent legal advice regarding its activities" and was "confident that its activities are fully compliant with Victoria's electoral laws."

What changes before polling day?

With the state election fewer than 100 days out at publication and both groups declining to name financial backers, the central pressure point is whether platforms, regulators or the Victorian Electoral Commission narrow the disclosure gap before voters reach the ballot box.