State Government Ministers

Government Ministers are also called Cabinet Members. Each Cabinet Member or Minister has a portfolio, or area they are responsible for. A list of Victorian Government Ministers can be found on the Department of Premier and Cabinet website.

Ministers often lead the development of new policy, funding and grants programs, and laws in their portfolio areas, so they’re good people to get in touch with.

If you aren’t getting the response you want from your local member, the Minister is often the next place to turn – but they are very busy people, so you may not get an immediate response or commitment.

Before contacting a Minister, you’d do much the same preparation you’d do before contacting a local member – but this time, you’d contact their ministerial office rather than their electoral or parliamentary office. Phone calls are unlikely to be as effective as letters with Ministers.

It’s best to save the really big issues for Ministers – and use letters to communicate. Most Ministers aren’t inclined to interfere with public servant’s decisions about relatively minor issues, and bombarding them with letters may even result in them taking less notice of you, not more.

And Ministers are definitely people who love to hear good news, so if you can, send the Minister a letter introducing your group and highlighting some of your successes before you start asking them to help you.