Ex-LNP candidate Vivian Rakesh Lobo, 41, faces court charged with allegedly providing false or misleading information

A former Federal LNP candidate has faced court for the first time after being charged with allegedly providing false or misleading information to the nation’s electoral commission about where he lived.

Vivian Rakesh Lobo, 41, who ran for the Queensland seat of Lilley in the 2022 election, is accused of providing false or misleading information to the Australian Electoral Commission.

An embattled former federal LNP candidate has faced court for the first time after being charged with allegedly providing false or misleading information to the nation’s electoral commission about where he lived.

Vivian Rakesh Lobo, 41, was the LNP’s last-minute candidate for the seat of Lilley—based in Brisbane’s inner-north—at the 2022 election.

He is accused of providing false or misleading information to the Australian Electoral Commission in relation to where he and his family members lived.

In May 2022, just days out from the federal election, the AEC referred Lobo to the AFP amid allegations he may have provided false documentation.

At the time Lobo was enrolled to vote at an address in Everton Park, which is within Lilley, even though the home was found to be an unfurnished and dilapidated house.

Lobo, at the time, maintained he had “intended” to move into the Everton Park home “straight away” after leasing the property but due to campaign commitments and “difficulty with getting tradespeople to the home” this was delayed.

It is not uncommon for MPs or candidates to live outside the electorate they are vying for, but providing false or misleading information to the AEC is a criminal offence punishable with up to a year in jail or a fine of $12,600.

The “eligibility basics” on the AEC’s website for voters seeking to update their enrolment details states people should have lived at the address “for at least one month”.

Lobo’s lawyer Alex Jones, director of Jones and Associates, said he would be sending a submission to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the charges.

The matter was adjourned to March 13 and Lobo was granted bail on his own undertaking.

He declined to comment outside court.

The AFP issued him with a court summons last month.

Mr Lobo is charged with four counts of knowingly providing false or misleading information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was Opposition Leader at the time, called on Scott Morrison to take action over Mr Lobo’s referral to the AFP.

Mr Lobo was not disendorsed by the LNP at the time.

Lilley was Queensland’s most marginal electorate going into the 2022 federal election, but an 11 per cent swing against the LNP on first preferences helped ensure Labor’s Anika Wells was returned to the seat with a health two party-preferred buffer of nearly 10 per cent.

Originally published as Ex-LNP candidate Vivian Rakesh Lobo, 41, faces court charged with allegedly providing false or misleading information