Two Victorian ministers quit cabinet before November election

Victorian Health Minister Harriet Shing and Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said on July 30 that they would leave the cabinet and retire from politics at the Australian state's November election. The two senior Labor figures announced their plans two days after Ben Carroll replaced Jacinta Allan as premier.

The departures created two cabinet vacancies as Carroll prepared to reorganize the government ahead of the election. They did not amount to immediate resignations from parliament: both ministers said they would remain lawmakers until voters choose a new state parliament in November.

Shing notified Carroll hours after his swearing-in

Shing said she met Carroll on the afternoon of July 28, hours after he was sworn in, to tell him of her decision. Australian Associated Press, in a report published by The Nightly, said she had entered cabinet in 2022 and became health minister in April 2026.

Victoria's parliamentary record says Shing was first elected in 2014 to the Legislative Council, the state's upper house, representing Eastern Victoria. She said elected officials were custodians of their roles and that it was time to pass the opportunity and responsibility to another person.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio (file photo).

D'Ambrosio ends a career dating to 2002

D'Ambrosio was first elected to Victoria's Legislative Assembly in 2002 and represented the Mill Park district. The parliamentary profile listed her portfolios as climate action, energy and resources, and the State Electricity Commission before her cabinet departure.

The AAP report described D'Ambrosio as Australia's longest-serving energy minister. She had held the energy portfolio since the first term of former premier Daniel Andrews's government. In her retirement statement, she said she hoped her public career would show girls that a political future was possible regardless of their faith, appearance or accent.

Departures follow a rapid leadership change

Carroll became Victoria's premier on July 28 after Allan resigned shortly before a Labor caucus meeting where she was expected to face a leadership challenge. Labor lawmakers elected Carroll unanimously after a brief contest inside the party room, according to ABC News.

Carroll said on July 30 that he would reshape the frontbench after a caucus meeting the following Monday. He thanked Shing and D'Ambrosio for their service and said he wanted a disciplined and united cabinet. No successors had been announced when the two ministers disclosed their plans.

What remains unresolved

The announcements settled the ministers' election plans but left the composition of Carroll's cabinet open. APPI News could not find the ministers' full retirement statements on Victorian government or parliamentary websites at the time of writing, so their quoted remarks and the timing of their cabinet departures rely on the AAP report carried by The Nightly.

Allan's longer-term plans were also unclear on July 30. She had resigned as premier, but no verified announcement in the sources reviewed for this report established whether she would contest the November election.