Former Victoria premier Jacinta Allan retires from parliament

Jacinta Allan has announced she will retire from parliament following the Victorian election in November, just weeks after she was dramatically ousted as premier.

Speaking from her electorate of Bendigo East on Friday, she confirmed she would not recontest her seat at the election.

“I stated in my inaugural speech to the Victorian Parliament, I intend to make a difference,” she said.

“Today, as I announce that I will not be contesting the 2026 election, I can proudly say I did just that.”

Allan has spent 27 years in politics after being elected member for Bendigo East at the age of 25, just a day before her birthday.

She was the youngest woman to be elected to the Victorian Parliament and the first Labor member for the seat.

“Twenty seven years later, I still feel that same sense of excitement and exhilaration when solving a local problem,” she said.

Allan said it was time for her to pass the honour of Member for Bendigo East to someone else.

“I am looking forward to taking everything I have learnt and loved from this role into my own next chapter,” she said.

She left the press conference without taking any questions from reporters.

Allan became premier in September 2023 when her predecessor Daniel Andrews stepped down from the role.

She conceded her leadership after she was approached by a group of cross-factional Labour MPs, including six ministers, who told her she had lost the support of the party room amid poor polling numbers and growing support for One Nation.

Her former deputy premier, Ben Carroll contested the role and was elected unopposed.

In a statement, Carroll paid tribute to Allan’s service to the Bendigo community.

“On behalf of Victoria, I thank Jacinta for her decades of dedicated service, leadership and friendship,” he said.

“I wish her and her family, who shared her with the people of Bendigo for so long, all the very best for the future.

“The best way we can honour that legacy is to continue the work.”