Ben Carroll

Minister for Education

Upon becoming Deputy Premier in October 2023, Carroll assumed the role of Minister for Education.^[12] 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.^{[3][13][14][15]}

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.^[16] The delegation told Allan she had lost majority support within caucus, then met with Carroll and urged him to step forward as a contender.^[16] Allan responded by asking the ministers in the delegation to resign, a request they refused.^[16] Carroll subsequently met with the premier to inform her of his intention to run, and later issued a public statement declaring that "the stakes at the upcoming election are simply too high" and warning of the risk of a Liberal-One Nation government.^[16] Earlier that morning, Allan wrote to the party's state secretary to indicate she would contest any leadership ballot.^[17] 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.^[18] 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.^[16]

On 28 July 2026, Allan resigned as premier, stating that while she believed she would have won a leadership ballot, stepping aside was "the right thing" to do for Labor and Victorians with the election just four months away.^[19] 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".^[20] 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.^[20] Carroll was officially sworn in as Victoria's 50th premier on the same day.^[19]

Economics

He has been characterised as more economically liberal and pro-business in comparison to his Labor Left predecessors Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews,^[4] and has cited former US President Bill Clinton as an inspiration.^[23]

Foreign policy

He was the only sitting Labor MP to publicly criticise Andrews after he attended China's 2025 Victory Day Parade.^[23]