Former Daniel Andrews Adviser Summoned to Victoria Royal Commission
Matthew Toner, a former adviser to Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, has been compelled to appear before a royal commission. Counsel assisting criticized the state's infrastructure agency Vida for late and improperly redacted documents, and for disclosing text messages about a Sunbury level crossing project only this week.
A former Daniel Andrews adviser, Matthew Toner, has been ordered to appear before a Victorian royal commission after a state agency disclosed text messages about a controversial rail project, the inquiry heard on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
Commissioner Christopher Kourakis confirmed that Toner, a former adviser to the longtime Victorian premier, and Matthew Phelan, a former chief of staff at the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (Vida), have been issued compulsory notices to appear. The notices followed the discovery of the texts.
Criticism of Vida
The commission is examining the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure construction projects in Victoria. Counsel assisting, Chris Young KC, told the hearing that Vida had failed to produce relevant documents, or had produced documents that were improperly redacted.
Young said Vida asked for multiple extensions to a deadline. It then delivered a document two days late, including pages of handwritten notes, central to the Gap Road project, that had been improperly redacted.
On Tuesday night, Young said, Vida disclosed for the first time that its personnel held text messages directly concerning the project. They refer to the PPO, or the Premier's Private Office, and to Toner and Phelan.
Link to the union
Young said Toner left his position in early 2024, about the time Andrews resigned as premier. Notes from a delegates meeting of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on March 14, 2024, recorded its former state secretary John Setka saying Toner had left and that "he was a good asset to the union".
This week's hearings, the first with public witnesses, have focused on the union's involvement in a 2022 level crossing removal at Gap Road in Sunbury.
Among the late material were eight pages of handwritten notes by former Vida executive Evan Tattersall. They include notes from a meeting on the morning of the industrial dispute, which was eventually resolved. One entry reads "Claim RIA [Rail Infrastructure Australia] hasn't engaged with CFMEU".
Warning on penalties
Young reminded current and former public servants that failing to comply with the commission could be punished with imprisonment. He said the commission has only a short time to finish its work.
"It has compulsory powers, reinforced by sanctions … which do include imprisonment," Young said.
He said non-state parties had met requirements that were at least as onerous, and had done so far more quickly. Delays by state parties have already affected the timetable of hearings, he said.
Young called Vida's attitude particularly disappointing given repeated comments by current premier Ben Carroll on the importance of the commission's work. Richard Knowles KC, appearing for Vida, said the agency intends to respond as soon as possible to the commission's requests for more documents.
Young was blunt about the wider pattern. He called it "profoundly disappointing" that state entities and senior current and former officers "only engage with this commission when compelled to do so".
