Benjamin Alan Carroll (born 12 July 1975) is an Australian politician and lawyer and has been the current

deputy premier of Victoria The deputy premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The deputy premier position was created in May 1932, with Robert Menzies being the first person to hold the position. The deputy premier is appointe ...

since October 2023. He has been the deputy leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2023 and has been a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

(MLA) for the division of Niddrie since 2012. Carroll also currently holds the positions of

Minister For Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

and

Deputy Premier of Victoria The deputy premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The deputy premier position was created in May 1932, with Robert Menzies being the first person to hold the position. The deputy premier is appointe ...

in the state government since the 2023 cabinet reshuffle which resulted in the First Allan Ministry. In addition to his ministerial portfolios, Carroll is a member of two parliamentary committees - the Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Committee and Dispute Resolution Committee. He has previously held various ministerial portfolios since 2020 in Industry, employment, road safety and support, and Public Transport.

Early years and education

Carroll was born in

Airport West, Victoria Airport West is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, central business district, located within the City of Moonee Valley Local government areas of Victoria, local government ...

. His father was an electrician, and his mother worked at Glenroy West Primary School. Carroll attended primary school at St Christopher's Primary School, and high school at St Bernard's College in

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

. From his teenage years into his early twenties, Carroll worked as a sales assistant for

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

in Airport West. Carroll studied law at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

, graduating with honours in 2000. He was admitted as a legal solicitor in 2010. He holds a Master's in Law from

, having commenced the degree subsequent to his 2012 election. Caroll worked for the insurance company

AAMI Australian Associated Motor Insurers Limited (commonly referred to as AAMI) is an Australian general insurance provider offering car, home, CTP and business insurance. AAMI has vehicle assessment centres in Victoria, New South Wales, Queenslan ...

in its motor vehicles division, and for the Victorian Government Solicitor between 2009 and 2010.

Political career

Carroll has worked as a political adviser to

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 t ...

, Justin Madden, and

Stephen Conroy Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

. In 2012, Carroll was elected to the seat of Niddrie in a by-election following the resignation of

Rob Hulls Rob Justin Hulls (born 23 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2012, representing the electorate of Niddrie. As well as serving as the Deputy Premier of Victoria, ...

, and was re-elected in 2014 and 2018. In December 2014, Carroll was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Justice in the incoming Andrews Labor Government. In October 2017, he was appointed Minister for Industry and

Employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

, after the resignation of Wade Noonan from cabinet. In September 2023, Carroll was elected deputy party leader following the resignation of

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian former politician who served as the 48th premier of Victoria from 2014 to 2023. He held office as the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2010 and ...

as Premier and incumbent deputy

Jacinta Allan Jacinta Marie Allan (born 19 September 1973) is an Australian politician serving as the 49th and current premier of Victoria since 2023. She has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2023 and has been ...

's ascension to the position.

Electoral history

References

External links