本·卡罗尔于2026年7月29日开始担任维多利亚州州长的首个完整工作日[1]。他在前一天的工党党团投票中不反对地当选，击败了前州长杰欣塔·艾伦和司法部长索尼娅·基尔肯尼，成为本届任期内第三位工党领导人[1]。艾伦于上午9:30宣布辞职，基尔肯尼随后撤回竞选[1]。卡罗尔在上任后表态明确自己的立场，声称"让我明确说一点：我不是丹尼尔·安德鲁斯。我不是杰欣塔·艾伦"[1]。
新州长提出了几项重要政策承诺。卡罗尔宣布将建立皇家委员会调查Big Build项目腐败，范围"广泛"且"尽快建立"[1]，并表示"在我的政府中，诚信不是可选的"[1]。他还承诺改革反腐机构IBAC并推行法律与秩序改革[1]。卡罗尔的内阁任命包括蒂姆·理查德森议员进入内阁，以及加布里埃尔·威廉姆斯被选为新副州长[1]。维多利亚州大选定于11月28日举行[1]。
Ben Carroll commenced his first complete working day as Victoria's premier on July 29, 2026, following his election as Labor leader the previous day [1]. Carroll secured the position unopposed in a party room ballot after former premier Jacinta Allan announced her resignation at 9:30 a.m. and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny subsequently withdrew from the contest [1]. He becomes the third Labor leader to hold the role during the current parliamentary term [1].
The new premier has outlined an ambitious reform agenda ahead of the state election scheduled for November 28 [1]. Carroll has pledged to establish a royal commission to investigate corruption within the Big Build infrastructure program, to be launched "as soon as possible" with a "broad" scope [1]. He has also committed to overhauling the state's anti-corruption body, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), and implementing law and order reforms [1]. "In my government, integrity is not optional," Carroll stated [1]. He emphasized his distinct political identity, declaring: "Let me be clear about this: I'm not Daniel Andrews. I'm not Jacinta Allan" [1].
Carroll's cabinet appointments include MP Tim Richardson, while Gabrielle Williams has been selected as the new deputy premier [1]. Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten predicted the leadership change could reverse the party's electoral fortunes, asserting that allowing Allan to remain in office would have resulted in an "extinction-level result" worse than Labor's 1992 defeat [1]. Shorten forecast that Carroll could lift Labor support from the low 20 percent range to "at least mid-30s" [1].