The Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP
Minister for Education and Minister for Women
Minister Hutchins is the Member for Sydenham and was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Keilor in 2010. She has been Minister for Education and Minister for Women since June 2022.
Minister Hutchins previously served as Minister for Local Government from December 2014 to September 2017, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister for Industrial Relations from December 2014 to December 2018, Minister for Women and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence from September 2017 to December 2018, and Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice and Minister for Victim Support from June 2020 to June 2022.
The Minister for Education oversees Victoria’s Education State reforms and is responsible for providing education to more than a million Victorian students. This portfolio includes government investment in school infrastructure and programs.
Contact: Natalie Hutchins MP - Member for
The Hon. Gayle Tierney MP
Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, and Minister for Agriculture
Minister Tierney was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Western Victoria in 2006, and has held the office of Minister for Training and Skills since November 2016, Minister for Higher Education since November 2018 and Minister for Agriculture since June 2022. In 2020 Minister Tierney was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.
Minister Tierney served as Minister for Corrections from November 2016 to December 2018, and previously served as the Cabinet Secretary and Deputy President of the Victorian Legislative Council. She was Deputy Chair of the Rural and Regional Parliamentary Committee from March 2007 to November 2010, and Deputy Chair of the Education and Training Parliamentary Committee from February 2010 to June 2013.
The Minister for Training and Skills is responsible for ensuring that Victoria’s Vocational Education and Training and Adult Community Education system plays a key role in achieving the economic and social objectives of government, industry, local communities and individual learners.
The Minister for Higher Education administers legislation that establishes Victoria’s 8 public universities, their governing bodies and accountability requirements. The Minister is also responsible for developing policy related to higher education in Victoria and representing Victorian universities and higher education providers within government.
Contact: Gayle Tierney MP - Member for Western
Ingrid Stitt MP
Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, and Minister for Workplace Safety
Minister Stitt was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Western Metropolitan in 2018. She has been the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep and the Minister for Workplace Safety since September 2020.
The Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep oversees Victoria’s kindergarten system, the staged rollout of universally funded Three-Year-Old kindergarten and Pre-Prep, and early childhood education services, including for children with disability or developmental delay.
Contact: Ingrid Stitt MP - Member for Western Metropolitan
Secretary, Jenny Atta PSM
Jenny Atta has been Secretary of the department since March 2019. Prior to this, Jenny was Acting Secretary from November 2018.
Jenny is directly responsible for the management of the department and for supporting the early childhood, education and training portfolio ministers in the management and administration of their portfolios.
Jenny joined the department in December 2015 as Deputy Secretary, Infrastructure and Finance Services Group. In this role, Jenny was responsible for the management and oversight of the department’s financial, procurement and information technology services, along with strategic advice and planning for State Budget processes, and infrastructure policy and delivery. This followed a range of senior roles in the VPS, including with the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) and the Department of Human Services.
Jenny holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Master of Public Policy and was awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2021 for outstanding public service to strategic social policy reform and delivery in Victoria. In 2019, Jenny was inducted as an Institute of Public Administration Australia Victorian Fellow.
Deputy Secretaries
The 8 Deputy Secretaries and CEO of the Victorian School Building Authority are directly responsible for each group within our departmental structure.
- Deputy Secretary, Early Childhood Education – Ms Kim Little
- Deputy Secretary, Financial Policy and Information Services – Mr Tony Bates
- Deputy Secretary, Higher Education and Skills – Ms Lill Healy
- Deputy Secretary, People and Executive Services – Ms Kate Rattigan
- Deputy Secretary, Policy, Strategy and Performance – Ms Kylie White
- Deputy Secretary, School Education Programs and Support – Mr Stephen Fraser
- Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services – Dr David Howes
- Deputy Secretary, Schools Workforce – Ms Andrea Del Monaco
- Chief Executive Officer, Victorian School Building Authority – Mr Tom Kirkland
Reviewed 19 December 2022