Ben Carroll

Benjamin Alan Carroll (born 12 July 1975) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has served as the 50th premier of Victoria and the leader of the Victorian Labor Party since July 2026. He has been the member of parliament (MP) for the district of Niddrie since 2012.

Carroll was born in Melbourne, attending St. Bernards College and studying law at La Trobe University, where he joined the Labor Party. Prior to entering politics, he worked in vehicle insurance and was later admitted as a solicitor. He was as a political adviser to premier Steve Bracks from 2000 to 2004. Carroll was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the district of Niddrie in the 2012 by-election, after the resignation of Rob Hulls.

Early years and education Benjamin Alan Carroll was born on 12 July 1975 in Melbourne, Victoria and raised in the suburb of Airport West. His father was an electrician, and his mother worked as a business manager at Glenroy West Primary School. Carroll attended St Christopher's Primary School and completed his secondary education at St Bernard's College in Essendon.

Carroll studied law at La Trobe University,

Political career Carroll worked as a political adviser to former Victorian premier Steve Bracks from 2000 to 2004. In the second Andrews ministry, he served as Minister for Victim Support and Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Crime Prevention from 2018 to 2020, then as Minister for Roads and Road Safety from 2020 to 2022 and Minister for Public Transport from 2020 to 2023. In the third Andrews ministry, he briefly held the portfolios of Minister for Industry and Innovation, Minister for Manufacturing Sovereignty and Minister for Employment from 2022 to 2023.

In September 2023, Carroll was elected as the deputy leader of the Victorian Labor Party and the deputy premier of Victoria following the resignation of Daniel Andrews and the ascension of Jacinta Allan to the premiership. He has also served as Minister for Medical Research since April 2026 and Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC since 2024, in the Allan ministry.

Minister for Education Upon becoming Deputy Premier in October 2023, Carroll assumed the role of Minister for Education. His tenure has been marked by significant industrial disputes with the Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch regarding public school funding, teacher salaries, and classroom workloads. In March 2026, thousands of Victorian public school teachers, principals, and education support staff participated in a 24-hour statewide strike—the first such action in Victoria in over 13 years—marching to the State Parliament to demand improved compensation and working conditions.

Following months of negotiations, the government presented a revised $6 billion agreement offering a 28.2 percent pay increase over four years, which Carroll described as a landmark offer while urging the union to cease industrial action. In July 2026, AEU members narrowly rejected the offer, with 51.18 percent voting against the deal. Despite Carroll appealing to educators that "students should be in classrooms and parents shouldn't be left scrambling for childcare or losing a day's pay", a second 24-hour statewide stop-work stoppage and rally proceeded on 23 July 2026. In addition to the statewide walkouts, rank-and-file teachers and union splinter groups staged targeted demonstrations outside Carroll's electorate office in Niddrie.

Premier of Victoria

In late July 2026, Carroll confirmed he would nominate for the leadership of the Victorian Labor Party in the event of a spill, after a cross-factional delegation of ministers and MPs visited Premier Jacinta Allan to urge her to stand down. The delegation told Allan she had lost majority support within caucus, then met with Carroll and urged him to step forward as a contender. That ballot, if triggered, would involve a weeks-long process where both the parliamentary caucus and rank-and-file Labor members would vote, with the result determined by a 50-50 split between MPs and party members. The move to challenge Allan came after factional conveners from Labor's left and right met days earlier and agreed she no longer had the support of a majority of the caucus, just four months before the state election. Allan announced her resignation ahead of the caucus meeting and expressed that should Carroll emerge as the next leader, he would have her congratulations and "unqualified support". During the subsequent caucus meeting, Carroll faced a surprise leadership challenge from Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny, who earned the support of 15 MPs including Allan herself, but Carroll secured the support of more than two-thirds of caucus and was declared unanimously elected. He is a member of former federal Senator's Stephen Conroy's faction known as the "Cons", with Carroll considering Conroy a political mentor.

Economics He has been characterised as more economically liberal and pro-business in comparison to his Labor Left predecessors Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews, and has cited former US President Bill Clinton as an inspiration.

Foreign policy He was the only sitting Labor MP to publicly criticise Andrews after he attended China's 2025 Victory Day Parade.

Electoral history