A former Victorian Liberal government minister secretly paid out a young female staffer who accused him of serious harassment in the months leading up to the last state election.

Fairfax Media can reveal that former Liberal MP Nick Kotsiras made a sizeable payout - believed to be just under six figures – several weeks before he resigned from Parliament in 2014.

Former Liberal government minister Nick Kotsiras. Credit:Mal Fairclough

The handling of the allegations and the settlement have never before been made public, but could now prove sensitive for the Liberal Party because it stands in contrast to Labor's handling of a bullying claim involving former minister Adem Somyurek and his then female chief-of-staff.

Mr Somyurek was forced to stand aside as a result of the scandal, as former Judge Michael Strong conducted a sweeping investigation in 2015. However, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy was highly critical at the time, demanding that Daniel Andrews provide "a full and frank" airing of the case, and consistently reminding the Premier of his own past comments: "The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."