Jaclyn Symes (born 28 January 1988) is an Australian politician and Attorney-General of the state of Victoria. She is a Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council, having represented

Northern Victoria Region Northern Victoria Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was created i ...

since 2014. Symes worked for five years as a ministerial advisor for

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, ...

, the Victorian

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and Attorney-General. When the Labor Party lost government in 2010, Symes transferred to Hulls' electoral office. In 2011, she became pregnant and applied for maternity leave entitlements accrued during her employment with the Department of Premier and Cabinet, but was informed that as she was now employed by the Parliament of Victoria, she could not access the entitlement without dispensation from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The Speaker, Ken Smith, declined the request, and the matter was referred to the Fair Work Commission by the

Community and Public Sector Union CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union (more commonly known as the CPSU) is a national trade union in Australia. The union came into existence on 1 July 1994 with the amalgamation of the Public Sector, Professional, Scientific, Research, T ...

. Premier Ted Baillieu intervened and referred the matter to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner to resolve any inconsistencies in the government's employment policies. In November 2018, Symes was appointed as Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Resources. In March 2020, Symes became the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. On 22 December 2020, Symes was appointed the new Attorney-General of Victoria, replacing Jill Hennessy, who had stepped down from the ministry to spend more time with her teenage daughters as they went through high school. In August 2021, Symes was appointed as Minister for Emergency Services but relinquished her resources portfolio. Symes completed a Bachelor of Laws at Deakin University in 2002. Symes is a member of the Australian Workers Union component of the Victorian Labor Right.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Jaclyn Symes at Victorian Parliament Tracker
Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council People from Benalla Deakin University alumni Attorneys-General of Victoria 21st-century Australian women politicians Labor Right politicians 1988 births {{Australia-Labor-Victoria-MP-stub