Legislative Assembly · District of Sydenham
Shania Khan
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Sydenham›
Sydenham covers outer north-western Melbourne suburbs including Sydenham, Taylors Hill, Taylors Lakes, Delahey, Hillside, Plumpton, Deanside and Calder Park. It was created for the 2014 election, largely replacing Keilor, and Labor's Natalie Hutchins has held it ever since, winning in 2022 with 43.5% of first preferences and 58.7% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Joseph Cullia. Hutchins announced on 16 October 2025 that she will not recontest, and left the ministry in December 2025, so 2026 is an open contest. The field found is seven candidates: Labor's Uros Rasic, the Liberals' Nathalie Moussi, the Greens' Maggie Jane, the Victorian Socialists' Shania Khan, One Nation's Joh Bauch and independents Maria Kerr and Ashley Vandenburg. The Tally Room notes a fragmented conservative vote with several right-of-centre candidates, and a proposed AI data centre at Plumpton is a local issue.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Higher wages and more funding for schools and hospitals, public transport reform, combating racism and Islamophobia, opposing the Plumpton AI data centre, and Palestinian rights.
"I believe in fighting for a fair and equal society where us workers call the shots, not the ultra-rich and their out-of-touch political servants."
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 the cost-of-living crisis addressed through higher wages and more public funding for schools and hospitals.
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
Wants racism and Islamophobia combated.
Housing affordability and supply
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; nothing on housing is attributed to Khan personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants public transport reformed to reduce reliance on private vehicles, and works as a train driver.
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 increased public funding for schools.
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 increased public funding for hospitals.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Opposes the proposed mega AI data centre in Plumpton over environmental and resource concerns.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
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 Khan 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-KHAN, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Shania Khan"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-KHANVictorian Socialists, "Shania Khan"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Sydenham results; the Victorian Socialists' candidate was Hajar Chlihi (4.5%). VVerified — WIKI-SYD-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Sydenham"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.
Khan has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2022 Sydenham candidate polled 4.5%, just above the 4% mark.