Religious schools and other employers would be given legal protection to exclusively hire staff who share their values and beliefs under a Victorian coalition election promise.
Fresh off the Essendon-Anthony Thorburn controversy, the Liberal-Nationals have quietly committed to amend Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act if they win the November 26 state poll.
In an authorised flyer featuring Opposition Leader Matthew Guy's image, the coalition pledges to make legislative changes to "allow for the right of a faith-based organisation to employ a person that aligns with the religious organisation's values".
Mr Guy has defended the proposal, declaring schools should have the right to hire people based on their faith.
"That's a common sense thing to do," he told reporters.
The "teal" movement has seized on the pledge, with independent candidate for Hawthorn Melissa Lowe calling on her Liberal opponent John Pesutto to publicly oppose it.
Mr Pesutto, who is vying to reclaim the inner-east Melbourne seat after losing it in 2018, insists no Victorian should be sacked because of their sexual orientation or religious beliefs but said laws need to be clarified.
"It's a very complex area of the law," the former state Liberal deputy leader and shadow attorney-general told AAP on Wednesday.
"What I want to see and what I've always believed in as a lawyer who practised in the area ... is that the law operates with some certainty."
Less than four weeks out from early voting opening, Victoria's embattled triple-zero service is still creating headaches for the Andrews Labor government.
Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes confirmed the call-taking service's computer-aided dispatch system crashed on Tuesday night, with operators reverting to a manual backup.
She said the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, which operates the triple-zero call system, would continue to investigate the causes of the crash.
"There were no adverse events. The system is back up and running and calls are coming through," she said.
A report from the Inspector-General for Emergency Management last month found at least 33 people died after delays and other issues to do with the triple-zero call system from December 2020 to May 2022.
A review has also been initiated into the death of 36-year-old father Danny Vasiljevic following an estimated 22-minute wait for an ambulance in September.
Ambulance Victoria executive director of clinical operations Anthony Carlyon said the service had been particularly busy on that night and it dispatched the closest available ambulance.
Minor parties continue to unveil upper house candidates for the election, with Bertrand Babet, also known as Matt, to represent the United Australia Party.
He is the brother of the party's sole federal MP, Victorian senator Ralph Babet.
Former federal senator Ricky Muir will run for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
The Greens, meanwhile, are spruiking a $2.5 billion "big bike build" plan, which includes a 21-kilometre separated bike lane from Elsternwick to Coburg.
