Legislative Assembly · District of Sandringham
Lauren Stevenson
Last verified 29 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
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Public housing and rent freezes, more funding for health, education and disability services, welfare above the poverty line, free child care, opposition to privatisation, and support for refugee, LGBTI+ and Palestinian rights.
"I want to see change that puts human need above business as usual."
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
Wants free child care five days a week, welfare payments above the poverty line and action on supermarket price gouging.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax.
Crime and community safety
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Stevenson personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants increased public housing and rent freezes.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Advocates removing the dangerous level crossing at Highett Station.
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free.
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
Wants enhanced funding for public education.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Wants enhanced funding for public healthcare, disability services and government-funded aged care.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Wants local green spaces and parklands protected.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Stevenson personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Stevenson 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.
Their priorities match the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-STEVENSON, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Lauren Stevenson"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-STEVENSONVictorian Socialists, "Lauren Stevenson"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Sandringham results, in which the Victorian Socialists did not field a candidate. 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.
Stevenson has not previously contested an election, and the Victorian Socialists did not field a Sandringham candidate in 2022.