Legislative Assembly · District of Hastings
Frank Schiefler
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Hastings›
Hastings is a highly marginal Mornington Peninsula seat covering Hastings, Somerville, Langwarrin and French Island on the western shore of Western Port. The Liberals' Neale Burgess held it at the 2018 election; in 2022 Labor's Paul Mercurio, a former dancer and actor and Mornington Peninsula councillor, gained it, winning 51.4% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Briony Hutton despite trailing on first preferences (39.8% Liberal to 37.3% Labor). The margin is about 1.4 points. Mercurio is recontesting, and The Tally Room calls the seat a key Liberal target. The 2026 field found is five candidates: Mercurio, the Liberals' Frank Schiefler, the Greens' Isaac Willoughby, One Nation's Peter Angelico and the Animal Justice Party's Chloe Coulson. No Victorian Socialists candidate has been found.
Background
Local coverage says he met voters on Somerville streets and attended a Somerville Eagles match with the party leader; it does not state where he lives. RReported — MPNEWS-SCHIEFLERMPNEWS, "Wilson hits Hastings in support of candidate" (18 May 2026)View source
Bought his first home in the community. SSelf-stated — LIBV-FRANK-SCHIEFLERLiberal Victoria, "Frank Schiefler — Liberal candidate profile" (13 May 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.
Cost-of-living relief, safer communities, better local roads, improved health services and looking after veterans.
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
Names cost-of-living relief as a priority.
Crime and community safety
Liberal leader Jess Wilson, campaigning with him in Hastings, announced a plan to recruit 3,000 new police officers, and local coverage cites police station closures and record crime as local issues; nothing is attributed to Schiefler personally.
Names safer communities as a priority.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison.
State government debt and fiscal management
Jess Wilson, campaigning with him, announced raising the payroll tax threshold from $1 million to $1.2 million and the land tax threshold from $50,000 to $300,000; nothing is attributed to Schiefler personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants better local 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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Wants improved health services and to look after veterans.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
Local coverage of the visit cites police station closures, record crime levels and the small business tax burden. RReported — MPNEWS-SCHIEFLERMPNEWS, "Wilson hits Hastings in support of candidate" (18 May 2026)View source
Local roads and health services in Hastings. SSelf-stated — LIBV-FRANK-SCHIEFLERLiberal Victoria, "Frank Schiefler — Liberal candidate profile" (13 May 2026)View source
His Liberal Victoria team page confirms the candidacy but did not render for extraction. RReported — LIBVIC-SCHIEFLERLiberal Victoria, "Frank Schiefler — Candidate for Hastings"View source
Their profile presents them as part of Jess Wilson's Liberal team, and the policies it names are the party's own plan rather than independent positions of theirs. SSelf-stated — LIBV-FRANK-SCHIEFLERLiberal Victoria, "Frank Schiefler — Liberal candidate profile" (13 May 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
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.
Schiefler has not previously contested this seat. The Liberals' 2022 Hastings candidate polled 39.8%, well above the 4% mark.