Premier Daniel Andrews could soon be forced to hand over the web browsing history from his computer and every staffer in his office.
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The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will rule on a case brought by Liberal MP Tim Smith, who is seeking a list of websites visited by all people employed by or seconded to the premier's office between January 1 and March 24 last year.
Mr Smith took the matter to VCAT after he was refused a request made last year under Freedom of Information laws to access the documents.
The Coalition said it wanted the internet browsing histories from the premier's office "to make sure that they're working".
Shadow Attorney-General John Pesutto would not say specifically what the opposition was searching for, but that he understood the office was "not a happy place".
"It would not surprise me if staff are spending time looking at employment agencies like Seek.com," he told reporters before the hearing on Thursday.
"We want to see whether the Andrews government has been at work or has been using taxpayer-funded resources spending time on other matters not related to the work that they should be doing on behalf of the Victorian people."
Lawyer Melinda Richards, SC, for Mr Andrews, told the hearing the original request did not fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and that web browsing histories were not used by the premier's office for organisational purposes.
Ms Richards also said it was likely the documents no longer existed because browsing histories were kept for a limited time, and that it would be a labour intensive exercise to determine if they could be produced.
She told the tribunal "boundaries were being tested".
A web browser history is an automatically generated record of websites visited by a user.
The main question being considered by VCAT is whether the lists generated from the history is considered to be official documents relating to the affairs of a minister or government agency.
Barrister Robert Cameron, for Mr Smith, conceded that web browsing histories had an element of "more random application" but that the request nonetheless fell within the scope of FIO laws.
He said the histories were "really just a different form of authorship".
Asked if the Coalition would commit to releasing the same information if elected next year, Mr Pesutto said: "We won't stonewall like the Andrews Labor government is stonewalling.
"We're quite happy to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. We just want Daniel Andrews, who's made all sorts of promises to be open and transparent, to do the same."
VCAT member Elisabeth Wentworth said she would consider the submissions and give her decision in writing.
