Newly appointed Victorian Premier Ben Carroll speaks to the media at Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, on July 28, 2026. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
The political journey of Victoria’s new premier began in a quiet suburb in Melbourne’s northwest .
Beneath a flight path, Ben Carroll lived with his siblings and parents, who quickly founded their own business in the electorate of Niddrie, which he now represents.
He credits much of his success to his teenage years, where he learned the understanding of hard work at the checkout of a Kmart in Melbourne’s Airport West when he was 14.
“I spent eight years at Kmart, which greatly assisted me during my college and university years,” Carroll said in that first speech to parliament in 2012.
“At this time I also joined the union covering the retail sector. I got a good understanding of the importance of unions in helping working people.”
Carroll was officially sworn in as Victoria’s 50th premier on July 28 after Jacinta Allan resigned following an internal revolt, four months out from the state election.
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Speaking on July 28, the fresh-faced premier said his hardworking past had helped him across 14 years in parliament.
“I still remember feeling the joy in receiving my first pay check,” he told reporters.
“It taught me from a young age, the value from a dollar … I understand the value of hard work and ensuring that every family has a chance to get ahead.”
Carroll once served as an adviser to former premier Steve Bracks, before entering parliament through a by-election following the retirement of former deputy premier Rob Hulls.
“I have a high regard for him and his abilities. He is smart, intelligent, hardworking, someone who’s got a good grasp of policy,” Bracks told AAP.
“Someone who has great respect for the people of Victoria, and he’ll bring those qualities into his leadership.”
He was elevated to cabinet in 2017 as industry and employment minister before transferring into the major portfolios of public transport and roads and road safety.
After threatening to nominate for the top job after former premier Daniel Andrews’ retirement, he became deputy premier in September 2023.
As a long-time minister, Carroll inherits a degree of political baggage.
The former education minister copped flak over a 2024 exam error that affected 65 VCE examinations and led to the dismissal of the board of Victoria’s curriculum authority.
During his time in the portfolio, the Labor government has also failed to secure a new pay deal with Victoria’s public school teachers, resulting in multiple statewide strikes.
Speaking in question time, Carroll described the deal as the biggest ever offered to Victorian teachers.
“That would have made them the highest paid. That would have made them and education support staff, the highest paid in the nation,” he said.
By Allanah Sciberras in Melbourne
