Legislative Assembly · District of Croydon
Richard Farr
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Croydon›
Croydon is a 41.99 km² Legislative Assembly district in Melbourne's outer east, part of the North-Eastern Metropolitan Region. Created in the 2014 redistribution, it has been held by the Liberal Party continuously since then, currently by David Hodgett. At the 2022 election Hodgett retained Croydon on a 51.4%-48.6% two-party-preferred margin over Labor. Hodgett is retiring at the 2026 election; the Liberal Party has preselected Grant Hutchinson to replace him, so none of the candidates is the sitting member.
Background
Grew up in Croydon and has worked across the area for most of his life. RReported — SM-FARRLilydale Star Mail, "Richard seeking a 'Farr Better Future' for Croydon"View source
Still lives in Croydon with his wife; his parents worked in the state electricity and disability sectors. RReported — EM-CROYThe Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"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.
Protecting work from home, improving public transport and fixing roads.
Says a candidate who wants your vote should make themselves available to earn it, and that doorknocking should be a chance to talk about what matters.
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
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Lists improving public transport and fixing roads among his priorities.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads.
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
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Health and healthcare access
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025; nothing is attributed to Farr personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
Protecting work from home is the issue most specific to his campaign, alongside local roads and public transport. RReported — EM-CROYThe Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View source
His campaign slogan is "A Farr Better Future for Croydon". RReported — SM-FARRLilydale Star Mail, "Richard seeking a 'Farr Better Future' for Croydon"View source
Farr's stated priorities (work from home, transport, roads) fit within Labor's statewide platform. RReported — EM-CROY, ET-LABOR-POLICYThe Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "Labor policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
A roundup of the Croydon field says none of the five candidates has prior electoral experience. RReported — EM-CROYThe Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Croydon results; Labor's candidates were Josh Cusack (37.9%) in 2018 and Sorina Grasso (34.1%) in 2022. VVerified — WIKI-CROY-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Croydon (Victoria)"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
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.
Farr has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. Labor's 2022 Croydon candidate polled 34.1%.