Legislative Assembly · District of Sandringham
Brad Rowswell
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Sandringham›
Sandringham is a bayside Liberal seat covering Beaumaris, Black Rock and Sandringham and parts of Cheltenham, Hampton, Highett and Mentone, created in 1955 and held by the Liberals for all but a few years since. Brad Rowswell won it in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022 with 46.4% of first preferences and 55.0% two-party-preferred against Labor's Bettina Prescott, a margin of about 5 points. He is recontesting and, per his parliamentary profile, is Shadow Minister for Education, Industrial Relations and Government Services. The 2026 field found is five candidates: Rowswell, Labor's Anastasia Sagris-Desmond, the Greens' Timon Fotakis, One Nation's Anthony Blight and the Victorian Socialists' Lauren Stevenson.
Background
Was a Cub and Scout with the 9th Sandringham Scouts and 2nd Beaumaris Sea Scouts, and is a life member of the Beaumaris Conservation Society and a member of Beaumaris RSL. VVerified — PARL-ROWSWELLParliament of Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Member profile"View source
Says he has served as Shadow Minister for Energy and Renewables, Innovation, Bay Protection, and Fishing and Boating since first elected in 2018. SSelf-stated — LIBV-BRAD-ROWSWELLLiberal Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Liberal candidate profile" (8 Dec 2022)View source
Says he was Liberal Party Whip in the Assembly and Deputy Chair of the Integrity and Oversight Committee. SSelf-stated — LIBV-BRAD-ROWSWELLLiberal Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Liberal candidate profile" (8 Dec 2022)View source
Says he was Shadow Treasurer after the 2022 election until January 2025, then Shadow Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service Innovation and for Environment. SSelf-stated — LIBV-BRAD-ROWSWELLLiberal Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Liberal candidate profile" (8 Dec 2022)View source
Was born at Sandringham Hospital and grew up in Beaumaris, and his electorate office is at 252 Bay Road, Sandringham. VVerified — PARL-ROWSWELLParliament of Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Member profile"View source
Played football for the Beaumaris Sharks and cricket for the Beaumaris Cricket Club. VVerified — PARL-ROWSWELLParliament of Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Member profile"View source
Says he is a member of the Beaumaris RSL. SSelf-stated — LIBV-BRAD-ROWSWELLLiberal Victoria, "Brad Rowswell — Liberal candidate profile" (8 Dec 2022)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.
No personal statement of priorities was retrievable: his personal site and party page are script-rendered, and his parliamentary profile lists roles and interests rather than policy positions.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Crime and community safety
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule.
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
Was Shadow Treasurer from December 2022 to January 2025, per Wikipedia.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Holds the Shadow Education portfolio.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Was Shadow Minister for Energy briefly in 2021 and Shadow Environment Minister from January 2025, per Wikipedia.
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.
Wikipedia describes him as a conservative MP with earlier ties to Tony Abbott. RReported — WIKI-ROWSWELLWikipedia, "Brad Rowswell"View source
As a shadow minister his positions follow the Liberals' statewide platform; no divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Won Sandringham in 2018 with 42.7% of first preferences and 50.65% two-party-preferred against Labor's Anita Horvath, a margin of about 0.7 points. VVerified — WIKI-SAND-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Sandringham"View source
Was re-elected in 2022 with 18,783 votes (46.4%) and 55.0% two-party-preferred against Labor's Bettina Prescott. VVerified — WIKI-SAND-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Sandringham"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.
As the sitting member, Rowswell met the "elected" limb of the test in 2022, and his 46.4% first-preference vote was also well above 4%.