Same Lobbyist.
Different Owners.
Three competing equipment suppliers, owned by three different investors, all hire the same lobbying firm.
The register tells you who the clients are. It doesn’t tell you what they asked for.
The Lobbyist Count
309 registered lobbyists work at firms that lobby for care providers. 130 of them used to work in government. See the full list.
One Firm, Five Clients
Hawker Britton’s official ACT and Tasmanian register entries both list the same five care and finance clients.[1]
| Client | Who owns it, or what it is |
|---|---|
| Aidacare | Quadrant Private Equity bought a majority in December 2022.[2] |
| Independent Living Specialists | In Riverside’s investment portfolio.[3] |
| Country Care Group | Next Capital bought 51% in December 2022.[4] |
| Affinity Education | Childcare group controlled by Quadrant, with the Future Fund’s No.7C vehicle in its disclosed structure.[5] |
| HESTA | The health and community services super fund.[1] |
Country Care Group and two people were acquitted of criminal cartel charges in 2021.[4]
What You Can Buy
The ACT register lists Hawker Britton’s staff history. Simon Banks was chief of staff to a federal opposition leader. Others worked in ministerial offices and departments.[1]
Clients can buy that knowledge of government. The register doesn’t show what those advisers ask serving ministers to do.
Other firms with clients in care, investment management and pharmaceuticals include GRACosway, EJF Advisory, Envoy Public Affairs, Principle Advisory and Nexus APAC.[6]
Most lobbying isn’t on any register.
The Commonwealth code covers third-party lobbyists. In-house staff lobbying for their own employer, and much of what peak bodies do, falls outside it.[7]
Synergy 360
Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit looked at procurements involving Services Australia, the NDIA, Synergy 360, Stuart Robert and John Margerison.[8]
It raised serious concerns and recommended a referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Its interim report made no findings against individuals, and Robert denied wrongdoing.[8]
The contracts, introductions, invoices and financial interests behind those deals are the records that would settle it.
Join the client’s name to the request, the officials approached, the date and the papers handed over. Then publish it.
Stuart Robert and the Data Centres
- November 2019Robert, then the minister for government services, speaks at the AIIA Canberra Managers Forum. Greg Boorer, founder of CDC Data Centres, is the MC.[9]
- 2019The Future Fund starts investing in CDC.[10]
- June 2021Under Robert’s Hosting Certification Framework, CDC is one of the first three providers certified “strategic”. Robert says “all relevant government data” for in-flight and future projects must only be stored in certified data centres.[11]
- October 2024Nine’s Nick McKenzie reports that Robert, through his company Coram Deo Capital, is seeking $500 million for a data centre to store defence secrets. It would sit on land owned by former Defence official Amresh Sharma, next to HMAS Harman. Lobbyists David Gazard and Scott Briggs are reported to be involved, and Blackstone is named among the investment firms approached.[12][13]
- February 2025The Future Fund buys another 10.46% of CDC, taking its stake to 34.55%. Infratil holds 49.75%, the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation 12.04% and CDC management 3.66%, with Greg Boorer the largest individual shareholder. Infratil and the Future Fund own 84.3% between them, and 96.34% with CSC, the other Commonwealth investor.[10][14]
- 1 July 2026Brad Banducci, the former Woolworths chief executive, joins Infratil’s board. Shareholders elect him in August.[15][16]
Sources
- ACT Legislative Assembly and Tasmanian Integrity Commission, Hawker Britton register entries, checked 5 October 2026. https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/functions/accessability-review/2018-project/act-register-of-lobbyists-update/act-register-of-lobbyists/act-register-of-lobbyists4/Hawker-Britton https://lobbyists.integrity.tas.gov.au/register/hawker-britton-group-pty-ltd
- Mergers Alliance and Greenstone Partners, Aidacare transaction record, 9 December 2022. https://www.mergers-alliance.com/madds/aidacare/
- Riverside, Independent Living Specialists portfolio page, checked 5 October 2026. https://www.riversidecompany.com/investment-portfolio/independent-living-specialists/
- Next Capital, Country Care Group majority investment, 20 December 2022; ACCC, Country Care CEO and former employee acquitted of criminal cartel offences, 2 June 2021. https://nextcapital.com.au/next-capital-buys-into-rehabilitation-retailer-country-care-group/ https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/country-care-ceo-and-former-employee-acquitted-of-criminal-cartel-offences
- Affinity Education Group, answers to supplementary questions, NSW Legislative Council, received 22 October 2025, question 15. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/22593/1a.%20ASQ%20-%20Affinity%20-%20received%2022%20October%202025.PDF
- Australian Government Register of Lobbyists; Enough research extract of registered lobbyists for Future Fund-linked care companies, 5 October 2026. https://lobbyists.ag.gov.au/register
- Attorney-General’s Department, Lobbying Code of Conduct. https://www.ag.gov.au/integrity/publications/lobbying-code-conduct
- Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, inquiry into procurement at Services Australia and the NDIA, interim report foreword. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Public_Accounts_and_Audit/SAandNDIA/Interim_Report/Foreword
- AUCyber, Knowledge base, AIIA Canberra Managers Forum, 29 November 2019. https://aucyber.com.au/knowledge-base/aiia-canberra-managers-forum
- Future Fund, Future Fund acquires further shares in CDC, 18 February 2025. https://www.futurefund.gov.au/news-room/Future-Fund-acquires-further-shares-in-CDC
- iTnews, Govt certifies first three strategic data centre providers, 8 June 2021. https://www.itnews.com.au/news/govt-certifies-first-three-strategic-data-centre-providers-565631
- DatacenterDynamics, Australia’s former digital minister proposes $500m top secret data center in Canberra, 14 October 2024. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/australias-former-digital-minister-proposes-500m-top-secret-data-center-in-canberra/
- W.Media, Proposal for new data centre in Canberra founded on Morrison government policy under scrutiny, 12 October 2024. https://w.media/proposal-for-new-data-centre-in-canberra-founded-on-morrison-government-policy-under-scrutiny/
- Infratil, Infratil increases its investment in CDC, 18 February 2025. https://infratil.com/news/infratil-increases-its-investment-in-cdc/
- Infratil, Infratil refreshes board with Australian directors, June 2026. https://infratil.com/news/infratil-refreshes-board-with-australian-directors/
- Infratil, Results of 2026 annual meeting, 19 August 2026. https://infratil.com/news/results-of-2026-annual-meeting/results-of-2026-annual-meeting/