LABOR candidate for Benambra Jennifer Podesta has lashed out at reports linking her family to the Australian Federal Police’s investigation of alleged electoral fraud in Indi.

Ms Podesta yesterday labelled allegations “a person close to” her was under scrutiny for changing their address to Indi as “a cowardly attempt” to damage her campaign in the Victorian election.

Her comments came as independent MP Cathy McGowan addressed media on the Australian Federal Police’s investigation in which 27 voters — believed to be young supporters involved in her campaign, including members of her family — changed their enrolment to Indi despite living, working and studying elsewhere.

Ms McGowan, who has not been implicated in the investigation, said she had not taken legal advice and that neither the federal police nor Australian Electoral Commission had been in touch with her, her office or her family.

“All I know is what I’ve been reading in the papers,” she said.

It was yesterday reported that “a person close to” Ms Podesta, who last year ran as an independent in the federal election, had changed their address in June last year from a seat in Melbourne.

Ms Podesta understands this person to be her 20-year-old son Dominic Ballard, who lived in Melbourne for three years while a student of the Australian Ballet.

He enrolled to vote in Melbourne when he turned 18, and later went overseas to audition for dance companies and has not lived in the city since, she said.

“He changed his enrolment address last year as when he is home in Australia he lives with his family in Wodonga for four to six weeks a year,” she said.

“This is clearly not in anyway a breach of the Electoral Act and any attempt to suggest otherwise can only be seen as a cowardly attempt to damage me and my campaign via my children.

“Any connection with the investigation of the McGowan campaign is purely coincidental.”

Reports also alleged two lawyers had changed their details from Melbourne to Indi.

The Australian Electoral Commission, which doesn’t have any investigatory powers itself, referred the 27 enrolments to the Australian Federal Police after finding “electoral irregularities” that may have been in breach of several Commonwealth laws.

While neither the commission or police have confirmed the exact nature of the allegations, it is claimed a group of McGowan supporters who grew up in Indi changed their addresses back to their home electorate to bolster her vote.

Ms McGowan yesterday maintained she knew nothing about anyone changing their addresses, nor any discussions encouraging people to do so.

It was, however, an “active part of our campaign to engage with young people ... we certainly had that discussion about once you’re 18 you have to enrol,” she said.

“What they actually did with that information was up to them because they are adults ... the whole campaign was to empower young people.”

Ms McGowan said she would not comment on the allegations, instead reiterating her call for people not to pass judgment until the investigation was complete.

“What worries me is we don’t have data to work with yet ... let’s wait for the results, when we’ve got the facts and we can actually talk about what we know,” she said.

“The good thing about it all is that it’s opened this discussion.”