TLDR
Victoria's auditor found the Metro Tunnel agency could not match its Channel 7 contract to what aired, making taxpayer-funded TV segments impossible to verify. Two of nine assessed campaigns broke mandatory TV authorisation rules, and the government paid Meta $16.9 million in 2025-26, against $7.2 million for all television.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Channel 7 deal nobody could account for
The Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) spent $3.65 million on the 'More Ways to Move' Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel opening campaign, with $2.5 million of that earmarked for media placement and a paid partnership with Channel 7 in November 2025.[1] When the Victorian Auditor-General's Office (VAGO) came to examine it, VIDA could not produce a working match between its contract, its payment records and the content that actually aired.[1] That left no way to confirm which segments taxpayers had funded.
VIDA told the auditor that one Channel 7 interview "was not undertaken under its paid agreement with Channel 7" and that it "had no control over its content". It also argued the integrated segment format made the required authorisation tag impractical. The auditor’s reply: "VAGO does not accept that transparency around government advertising should be compromised."[1]
Two TV campaigns that broke the rules
Of nine campaigns VAGO assessed, two breached television advertising rules.[1] The Metro Tunnel's integrated TV segments ran without the mandatory authorisation tag and bypassed the standard approval process. Victoria Police also ran recruitment ads for a purpose the rules do not permit.
Victorian government TV advertising must carry a prescribed authorisation tag and go through the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) approval process. The Metro Tunnel segments did neither, and VIDA used a "brought to you by" billboard instead.[1]
On the influencer side, VIDA invited 15 content creators to a Metro Tunnel pre-opening event and placed no contractual obligation on them to disclose the sponsorship arrangement when they published.[1] DPC published guidance on engaging social media influencers in late August 2026, after the Metro Tunnel opening.[1] When the influencer push was first reported last year, a government spokesperson said: "We make no apologies for communicating with Victorians through multiple channels."[4]
Where the money actually went
The TV breaches sit inside a much smaller TV budget. In 2025-26 the Victorian Government spent $7.2 million on television, $16.9 million with Meta and $23.1 million through automated advertising platforms.[2] Meta alone took more than twice the TV budget, which Mumbrella put at 133 per cent more than TV.[3]
TV spending has fallen about 74 per cent in four years, from $28 million in 2021-22 to $7.2 million in 2025-26, on VAGO's appendix figures.[2] For Seven and the other networks, government money now arrives as much through sponsored segments and integrated content as through spots, which is exactly the format the auditor could not verify.
| Channel | Spend (2025-26) |
|---|---|
| Digital and social media (total) | $61.5 million |
| of which: programmatic platforms | $23.1 million |
| of which: Meta | $16.9 million |
| of which: Google Search | $8.3 million |
| of which: TikTok | $1.8 million |
| Outdoor | $19.6 million |
| Radio | $14.1 million |
| Television | $7.2 million |
Total government advertising reached approximately $97 million in 2024-25, with digital and social media accounting for 56 per cent of that, up from 45 per cent in 2021-22.[1] VAGO tabled the full report on 20 October 2026. Agencies accepted eight of its nine recommendations in full or in part. DPC rejected the one asking it to tighten governance of content on government websites and branding.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- Government advertising and communications (Victorian Auditor-General's Office, tabled 20 Oct 2026)
- Appendix D: advertising spend by channel (VAGO)
- Victorian Government spends 133% more on Meta than TV (Mumbrella, 21 Oct 2026)
- Social media influencers used to promote Melbourne Metro Tunnel (ABC News, 29 Nov 2025)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What did the audit find about VIDA's Channel 7 deal?
What rules did the Metro Tunnel campaign break?
How much did the Victorian Government spend with Meta compared to television?
Were influencers required to disclose their involvement with the Metro Tunnel campaign?
James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
