Legislative Assembly · District of Preston
Franco Guardiani
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Preston›
Preston is a genuinely marginal Labor-vs-Greens contest (roughly a 2-point margin in 2022), not the safe Labor seat the original breadth pass implied. Sitting Labor MP Nathan Lambert is recontesting, facing the Greens' Loki Sangarya, Victorian Socialists' Serena Ashmore, and Animal Justice's Rachel Unicomb. No Liberal candidate has surfaced for 2026.
Background
Construction business owner. His party profile says his company was involved in high-rise, commercial and residential housing projects. SSelf-stated — ON-GUARDIANIOne Nation Victoria, "Franco Guardiani for Preston"View source
No company name was given on the profile and no business-register entry was matched, so the claim is unverified. SSelf-stated — ON-GUARDIANIOne Nation Victoria, "Franco Guardiani for Preston"View source
Born in Carlton to Italian parents who both migrated to Australia "for a better life." SSelf-stated — ON-GUARDIANIOne Nation Victoria, "Franco Guardiani for Preston"View source
The profile does not say how long he has lived in or near Preston, or name any Preston schools, clubs or community groups. SSelf-stated — ON-GUARDIANIOne Nation Victoria, "Franco Guardiani for Preston"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.
Restoring free speech: he says he joined One Nation because he sees free speech "slowly eroded" and wants everyone to be able to express their views without being threatened physically, mentally, financially or legally.
Immigration that infrastructure can keep pace with, citing strain on health services and waiting lists, roads and congestion, water, electricity, sewerage, public transport, housing and rental availability.
Relief from cost-of-living and housing pressure, which he says is pushing more families and individuals into poverty and homelessness.
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
Says the high cost of living is a major problem forcing more families and individuals into poverty and homelessness. No specific policy of his own is stated.
One Nation Victoria's platform pledges to abolish the 10% stamp duty on home, contents and car insurance, lift the payroll tax threshold, and wind back Labor's land tax increases on rental properties and small property owners (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Crime and community safety
No crime statement of his own was found on his profile.
One Nation Victoria's platform would return the age of criminal responsibility to 10 and sentence children charged with serious violent offences as adults under the Sentencing Act 1991 (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
It would also create a presumption against bail for repeat offenders and those offending on bail, a 24/7 Bail Court, mandatory supervised bail for serious offences, and a ninety-day clock from charge to trial for serious violent charges.
It would also build three new Magistrates' Courts at Melton, Epping and Pakenham, raise magistrate numbers toward around 170, and make parents liable for fines and property damage caused by children under 16.
Housing affordability and supply
Links immigration above infrastructure capacity to pressure on housing and rental availability, which he calls the most important strain. He also cites real relief from housing pressure as a priority.
His profile says his company worked on high-rise, commercial and residential housing projects, so he describes direct construction-industry experience.
One Nation Victoria's platform would review government fees and charges on new homes, release under-used government land, put a legal clock on planning and building approvals, free up granny flats and spare-room rentals, and raise the foreign purchaser duty (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
State government debt and fiscal management
No fiscal statement of his own was found.
One Nation Victoria's platform describes Victoria's debt as the highest in the country and pledges to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, abolish Gellung Warl and its legislated funding, cut the top layer of public-service executives, and introduce agency sunset reviews (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Says migration above infrastructure capacity is straining roads and congestion, public transport, water, electricity and sewerage.
One Nation Victoria's platform would cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, electrify the Melton line, complete the Airport Rail Link, and fund a regional-road maintenance backlog and a public Pothole Portal (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
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
No education statement of his own was found.
One Nation Victoria's platform would replace the Victorian Curriculum with a knowledge-rich syllabus, expand trade schools, and introduce school vouchers so funding follows the student (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Health and healthcare access
Says migration above infrastructure capacity is straining health care services and lengthening waiting lists. No health policy of his own is stated.
One Nation Victoria's platform would create a real-time statewide waiting-list view, make electronic medical records interoperable, and guarantee 24/7 emergency departments and core maternity and surgical capacity in major regional hospitals (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Urban planning and housing density
No planning statement of his own was found.
One Nation Victoria's platform would require genuine community consultation before high-rise development is imposed on established suburbs, and put a legal clock on planning approvals (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Climate and energy transition
No energy or climate statement of his own was found.
One Nation Victoria's platform would scrap all net-zero targets and subsidies, repeal the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983, cancel VNI West and WRL transmission projects, and reverse the ban on gas connections in new homes (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
Media coverage of the platform launch reports the same commitments to scrap the Treaty and climate policies.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No statement of his own was found.
One Nation Victoria's platform would scrap the Statewide Treaty entirely and abolish Gellung Warl and its legislated funding, citing the 2023 Voice referendum result (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
The ABC reported the party would scrap Treaty as part of its campaign launch on 3 October 2026.
Regional and rural Victoria
No statement of his own was found, and Preston is a metropolitan seat.
One Nation Victoria's platform includes a regional section (rail, roads, water, timber, fisheries, firearms and hunting) (party platform, not a Preston-specific statement).
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.
His profile is hosted on One Nation Victoria's website and his stated concerns (free speech, migration and infrastructure capacity, cost of living and housing) sit within the party's platform. No divergence from the party line was found. SSelf-stated — ON-GUARDIANI, ON-BOOKLETOne Nation Victoria, "Franco Guardiani for Preston"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "The Real Deal for Victoria: One Nation's Policy Platform (October 2026)" (2026-10)View source
The booklet's housing section also attributes rental and housing pressure to rapid population growth driven by net overseas migration, matching his framing. SSelf-stated — ON-BOOKLETOne Nation Victoria, "The Real Deal for Victoria: One Nation's Policy Platform (October 2026)" (2026-10)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Eligible for public funding if he is elected or receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in Preston; the VEC pays the lower of the entitlement or the audited statement of expenditure, and candidates who miss the threshold must repay any advance. Per the VEC's funding guidance as retrieved 2026-10-11, the 2026-27 lower-house rate is $7.70 per first-preference vote.
The VEC notes that Victorian political-finance law changed with the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, so the current rules and rates should be checked against the VEC's own pages. No public funding has been paid to him, and none can be paid before the election result.