Victor Michael Dominello (born 30 July 1967 in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

, New South Wales), is an Australian former politician who was the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Minister for Customer Service in the

second Berejiklian ministry The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

from April 2019, and in the Perrottet ministry until March 2023. Dominello was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

, representing the electorate of

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

from 2008 until his retirement in 2023. He had previously served as the Minister for Finance, Services and Property in the

first Berejiklian ministry First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

between January 2017 and March 2019; as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation between April 2015 and January 2017 in the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Baird government; as the Minister for Citizenship, Communities and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs between 2011 and 2015, and the Minister for Veterans Affairs and Assistant Minister for Education between 2014 and 2015, in the

O'Farrell O'Farrell is an anglicised form of the Old Irish patronym ''Ó Fearghail''. According to the historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Farrells were part of the Conmaicne Rein tribe in Ireland who came from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Cel ...

and first Baird governments. After a career as a solicitor and local councillor, Dominello was elected to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

following a Ryde by-election triggered by the resignation of his predecessor John Watkins. The by-election saw Dominello receive a

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

swing of 23.1 points. Dominello increased his margin at the 2011 election; however, the margin was reduced to 11.5 points at the 2015 state election. During his time in Government, Dominello built a reputation for delivering a number of highly successful digital products, including th
FuelCheck app
the ServiceNSW app, ParknPay and Digital Drivers Licence. Dominello has been credited with helping NSW to become a global leader in digital government services and constantly outranked the other Governments in Australia and New Zealand to lead th
Intermedium Digital Government Readiness Index
for six years running.

Early life and career

Dominello was born at Ryde Hospital and was educated at Holy Spirit School (North Ryde) and

Marist College Marist University is a private university in Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Marist was founded by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute, in 1905 to prepare brothers for their ...

(Eastwood). He went on to study law at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

. In 1991, he was admitted as a practitioner of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

and the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

after taking the solicitor's admission board examinations. In one of his first cases, Dominello represented applicants in the

Maralinga Maralinga is a desert area around large located in the west of South Australia, within the Great Victoria Desert. The area is best known for being the location of several British nuclear tests in the 1950s. In January 1985, in recognition of ...

cases, who sought compensation following the findings made by the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

into British nuclear tests in Australia. He successfully obtained an order that the limitation period be significantly extended to enable the applicants' claims to be maintained. In 1994, Dominello commenced employment with Etheringtons Solicitors of North Sydney, and in 2000 became a partner. In the same year he represented applicants in complex proceedings in the

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales The Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales conciliates and arbitrates industrial disputes, sets conditions of employment and fixes wages and salaries by making industrial awards, approves enterprise agreements and decides other indus ...

, where staff members sought damages against members of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and the

Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is Greg Piper, who was elected on 9 May 2023. Role The Speaker p ...

for unfair contract. Following his election to the Parliament of New South Wales in October 2008, Dominello stepped down as partner at Etheringtons.

Political career

Local government

He joined the Liberal Party in the early 1990s, and in 1995 Dominello was elected as a councillor for the

City of Ryde The City of Ryde is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Northern Sydney region, in New South Wales, Australia. It was first established as the Municipal District of Ryde in 1870, became a municipality in 190 ...

. While on Council, Dominello was chair of a number of committees including the development committee and had a significant involvement in the establishment of the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the development of the Macquarie Business Park. Dominello served two terms, but did not nominate for the 2004 local government elections, citing his desire to concentrate on his legal career, and subsequently let his Liberal membership lapse.

New South Wales politics

On 3 September 2008, Labor Deputy Premier John Watkins, who was also the local Member for Ryde, resigned from parliament, resulting in the need for a by-election. Dominello nominated for preselection and won, defeating Ryde Mayor Vic Tagg and several other local party members. On paper, Ryde was a safe Labor seat; Dominello needed a 10-percent swing to win it. However, it was located in territory that had historically been marginal at the federal level. Additionally, the by-election came at a very bad time for the government, whose polling numbers had rapidly tailed off only a year after winning a fourth term. Dominello went into the contest as the overwhelming favourite to win. He duly defeated Labor candidate Nicole Campbell in a landslide, receiving a swing of more than 25 points on the day of the by-election. The swing, at the time the largest a sitting NSW government had ever suffered, turned Ryde into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. He was subsequently sworn as a member of the Legislative Assembly in on 25 October 2008. Dominello has spoken in Parliament about a number of local issues including the future of Ryde Hospital, the Homebush V8 Supercar race and the increase to the Parking Space Levy. State government Dominello won the seat in his own right at the 2011 state election, picking up a healthy swing of 12.7 points and increasing his vote to 75 percent, making Ryde the 10th-safest Liberal seat. Following the electoral victory of the

government at that election, Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Citizenship, Communities and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Due to the resignation of

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...

, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014 in addition to his existing responsibilities as a minister, Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Veterans Affairs and the Assistant Minister for Education. Following the 2015 state election, Dominello was sworn in as the inaugural Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation in the second Baird government. In 2017 Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Finance, Services and Property in the first Berejiklian ministry. Following the 2019 state election, Dominello was sworn in as the Minister for Customer Service in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019. Dominello was additionally appointed Minister for Digital on 31 March 2021.

Post political career

Victor is a co-founder o
ServiceGen
whose motto is "''Government Services Profoundly Reimagined"''. According to its website, the company’s mission is to empower individuals and communities through a profound shift in Government service delivery. Federal government In November 2023, Victor Dominello was appointed by the Federal Minister for Government Services,

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...

, to lead a new advisory group designing the future of Mygov. Victor was also appointed to the Tech Council of Australia Board in 2023. In addition, he is also a Professor at University of NSW and a member of the UTS Trustworthy Digital Society Hub.

Personal life and health

In December 2013, Victor was featured at th
Sydney Morning Herald
championing multiculturalism and discussed how he is proud of his Italian heritage. He also mentioned being proud to be from a migrant family and sai
"I am a product of Ryde"
earlier in his career. In September 2018, Dominello broke an arm while arm-wrestling NSW Attorney-General

Mark Speakman Mark Raymond Speakman (born 6 November 1959) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011 New South Wales state election, 2011, representing Electoral district of Cronulla, Cronulla ...

in an office. On 18 August 2021, while fronting the media in a press conference, Dominello's face was seen to be drooping and he was blinking slowly with his left eye. Concerned viewers contacted his office to urge him to seek medical help, which he did later that afternoon and was diagnosed with

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...

. On subsequent days, he wore an eyepatch to prevent infection.

References

External links

Victor Dominello, NSW Liberal PartyState Electoral District – Ryde
–

New South Wales Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission, known as the NSWEC or the NSW Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NS ...

State Electoral District – Ryde Results 2008 By-election
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominello, Victor Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1967 births New South Wales local councillors 21st-century Australian politicians Politicians from Sydney Australian solicitors Ministers for aboriginal affairs and treaty Ministers for customer service and digital government Ministers for better regulation and fair trading Ministers for finance (New South Wales) People educated at Marist College Eastwood