Jacinta Marie Allan (born 19 September 1973) is an Australian politician who served as the 49th premier of Victoria from 2023 to 2026, holding office as the leader of the Victorian Labor Party. She has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the district of Bendigo East since 1999.
Born in Bendigo, Allan was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 1999 state election at the age of 25, becoming the youngest female parliamentarian in Victorian history. She entered the ministry in 2002, serving in a range of portfolios including education, skills, and regional development under premiers Steve Bracks and John Brumby. During this period she oversaw initiatives to address teacher shortages, initiated a review of school governance, and faced criticism over school funding and infrastructure.
Following Labor's defeat at the 2010 state election, Allan served in the opposition shadow ministry under Daniel Andrews. When Labor returned to government in 2014, she was appointed Minister for Public Transport and later Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, overseeing major infrastructure projects including the Suburban Rail Loop, Metro Tunnel, and Melbourne Airport Rail. Allan was appointed as the 29th deputy premier in June 2022 following the resignation of James Merlino, a promotion widely interpreted as positioning her as Andrews' eventual successor.
Allan became premier on 27 September 2023 after Andrews' resignation, the second woman to hold the position after Joan Kirner. As premier, Allan pursued a program of housing and planning reform, including overhauling planning laws to reduce approval times and rezone areas near transport hubs for higher-density development. Her government oversaw the completion of the Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel projects, and enacted Australia's first treaty with First Peoples. Her premiership was also marked by challenges including a corruption scandal involving the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and declining approval ratings. Her government's plan to demolish and rebuild public housing towers faced sustained opposition from tenants and advocacy groups.
In the lead up to the 2026 state election, Allan faced declining approval ratings and growing frustration within her party and amongst the broader Victorian public. Ahead of an expected leadership challenge, she announced her resignation as premier and leader of the Labor Party on 28 July 2026, and was succeeded by her deputy premier, Ben Carroll. On 14 August 2026, Allan announced she would retire from politics at the 2026 Victorian state election.
Early life Allan was born on 19 September 1973 in Bendigo, Victoria. A member of a prominent Bendigo political family, she is the granddaughter of William Allan who was the president of the Bendigo Trades Hall Council.Colin Cleary (1999), Bendigo Labor. The Maintenance of Traditions in a Regional City, Epsom, pp. 146–148, 227 William Allan declined an offer of Labor Party preselection for the federal seat of Bendigo in 1960, instead recommending Noel Beaton as a candidate. Her father, Peter Allan, played for in the VFL under-19s in 1963 and was a State Electricity Commission worker as well as a member of the Electrical Trades Union. She described her father as an "avid Labor man".
Allan was educated at St Joseph's Primary School in Quarry Hill and at Catholic College Bendigo. Allan described herself as an "average student" in high school. She completed the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at La Trobe University. While at university she worked part-time as a grocery bagger at Coles.
Early political career Allan joined the ALP at the age of 19. At age 20, she was a delegate to the Young Labor Conference. She became secretary of the Bendigo South branch of the ALP at 21, and by 24 was secretary of the Bendigo Federal Electoral Assembly. She interned for federal MP Lindsay Tanner during her honours year at university and subsequently worked as a political staffer for Steve Gibbons, the member for Bendigo and Neil O'Keefe, the member for Burke. In 1997, she was one of the leaders of a campaign to prevent a lap dancing bar from opening in Bendigo.
Allan was first elected at the 1999 state election at the age of 25, making her the youngest ever elected female parliamentarian in Victoria. She was approached by Gibbons to contest the seat of Bendigo East against incumbent Liberal minister Michael John, who had held the seat since 1985. The task was considered by many within the Labor Party, including Allan herself, to be unlikely to succeed. Despite the Kennett government losing support in regional areas, a swing of over five per cent was required for Allan to win. According to her friend and colleague Bob Cameron, Gibbons viewed the candidacy as an opportunity for Allan to "gain some experience for another day."
Allan was preselected a year before the election, and door-knocked approximately 10,000 homes across two-thirds of the electorate, wearing through two pairs of shoes in the process. Ultimately, she defeated John with an 8.1% swing, winning 48.4% of the primary vote and 53.1% of the two-party-preferred vote. Her victory was part of a large swing to Labor in regional Victoria which helped Labor form a minority government with the support of three independents.
In her maiden speech to Parliament, Allan criticised the previous Kennett government's policies, arguing they had left country Victorians as "prime losers" under a regime of "economic rationalism" that resulted in job losses, school closures, and the privatisation of public assets.
Bracks/Brumby governments (2002–2010) Allan retained her seat at the 2002 election winning 56.4% of the primary vote and 63.0% of the two-party-preferred vote—a 10.1% swing toward her. She entered the ministry after the election, serving as Minister for Education Services and Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs from 5 December 2002. She was the youngest Victorian government minister since Alfred Deakin in the 1880s. Reflecting on her promotion, former premier Steve Bracks later described Allan as "talented, skilled and articulate", noting that he believed both she and fellow rising star Tim Holding had the potential to become premier and that he wanted to "give [Allan] a go."
In January 2004, as Minister for Education Services, Allan announced a series of initiatives to address teacher shortages in rural and hard-to-staff schools. These included the Career Change program to recruit professionals from other fields into teaching, and a Rural Retraining program to help existing teachers gain qualifications in subject areas with high demand.
In April 2004, Allan faced criticism following the leak of a Department of Education briefing note. The document, written by the department's general manager of communications, requested that staff quickly submit ideas for a "comprehensive plan" of media events for the minister. The leak led to criticism that public resources were being used to raise Allan's personal profile. Allan defended the practice, stating it was normal procedure for departments to organise media opportunities and that the incident had been overstated.
In March 2005, Allan initiated a public review of governance arrangements for government schools, aimed at clarifying the roles and responsibilities of school councils.
In 2005 Allan's portfolio attracted controversy following a proposal to change funding arrangements for new students with disabilities attending specialist or mainstream schools. The proposed structure would have reduced funding for some students, prompting criticism from parents and advocacy groups. The government subsequently announced additional funding for the program. The physical condition of Victoria's schools was also criticised during her tenure as Minister. The Shadow Minister for Education Victor Perton described them as being in a "third world" condition, as well as Brian Caldwell, a former dean of education at the University of Melbourne stated that they were "deplorable". Allan dismissed the concerns, saying that the cause was neglect from the previous Kennett government.
At the 2006 election in November, Allan suffered a 7.6% swing against her although retained the seat with 55.35% of the two-party-preferred vote. The Labor Party as a whole lost 7 seats to the Liberal and National parties at this election. Following a post-election cabinet reshuffle in December, Allan's responsibilities were altered slightly, losing Youth Affairs in exchange for Women's Affairs. In March 2007 she presided over a ban of YouTube in Victorian government schools, in response to incidents of cyber-bullying on the platform.
She was promoted in August 2007, in a reshuffle sparked by the accession of John Brumby to the premiership where she received the portfolios of Skills and Workforce Participation and Regional and Rural Development. Brumby, who had held the regional development portfolio himself before becoming premier, had represented the federal seat of Bendigo from 1983 to 1990 and maintained a farm near the city.
In September 2009, Allan accompanied Brumby on a trade mission to India aimed at reassuring Indian students and their families following a series of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, and announced a $2.7 million support package for international students.
In 2010, she became Minister for Industry and Trade. Allan was targeted by Right to Life organisations during her election campaign in 2010, having voted for abortion reform in parliament during 2008.Lyle Allan (2010). "Margaret Tighe. The most powerful woman in Victoria," in Tasmanian Times, 30 November. http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/margaret-tighe.-the-most-powerful-woman-in-victoria/
In the lead-up to the 2010 state election, Allan's seat of Bendigo East was considered vulnerable. The government directed significant resources to the electorate, a strategy some Labor figures privately dubbed the "Save Jacinta Project". On state budget day in May 2010, Brumby travelled to Bendigo to announce $473 million in funding for a new hospital, described as the largest single investment in a regional hospital in Victoria's history. Allan's personal connections to Brumby drew attention during this period. Her partner, Yorick Piper, worked as a senior political adviser to the Premier, and Brumby's sister-in-law was employed in Allan's electorate office. Brumby rejected suggestions the regional spending was politically motivated, describing it as sound policy building on the government's record in regional Victoria.
While Allan retained her seat at the election, albeit with a 1.5% swing against her, Labor lost the election, winning 43 of 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly, two short of the 45 needed for a majority. Allan won 43.8% of the primary vote and 53.8% of the two-party-preferred vote in Bendigo East.
Opposition (2010–2014) After the defeat of the Brumby government in November 2010, Daniel Andrews was elected as leader of the Labor Party. In an interview Allan said that "[Andrews] will not only survive the next four years, but we'll be running this as a very, very strong Opposition." Allan became manager of opposition business in the Legislative Assembly, as well as opposition spokeswoman for Roads, Regional and Rural Development and Bushfire Response. Allan also served as police and emergency services spokesperson.
In a reshuffle announced in December 2013, Allan became Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Regional Cities and Regional & Rural Development, in addition to her responsibilities as Manager of Opposition Business.
Andrews government (2014–2023)
After the 2014 state election, Allan was appointed Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Employment in the First Andrews Ministry.