Legislative Assembly · District of Benambra
Kellie Sheppard
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Benambra›
Benambra covers about 10,037 sq km of north-eastern Victoria centred on Wodonga, taking in towns such as Beechworth, Corryong, Rutherglen and Tallangatta. The seat has been held continuously by conservative parties since its creation in 1877, most recently by Liberal MP Bill Tilley since 2006, who won it narrowly at the 2022 election with 50.9% to an independent's 49.1% two-candidate-preferred (a margin of 777 votes). Tilley announced in 2024 that he will retire at the 2026 election, following a cancer diagnosis. Steve Martin — a separate person from Tilley, previously mentored by him in an unsuccessful 2019 federal Indi campaign — is the Liberal Party's new candidate to succeed him.
Background
Describes herself as a thirty-year professional writer who has also operated two small businesses. SSelf-stated — ON-SHEPPARDOne Nation Victoria, "Kellie Sheppard for Benambra"View source
Her career history also includes property and a directorship of a national health not-for-profit providing patient support and GP education. SSelf-stated — ON-SHEPPARDOne Nation Victoria, "Kellie Sheppard for Benambra"View source
Reported as a freelancer for about 30 years who previously worked for McPherson Media Group and North East Media. RReported — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Described in a 2022 Border Mail article as a Myrtleford homeowner and former real estate agent. RReported — BM-AIRBNBThe Border Mail, "Myrtleford homeowner Kellie Sheppard raises AirBNB concerns as town is short of long-term housing" (28 June 2022)View source
No elected office found. Says she has volunteered and led community initiatives since her early teens. SSelf-stated — ON-SHEPPARDOne Nation Victoria, "Kellie Sheppard for Benambra"View source
Says she was nominated for a Pride of Australia Medal and received an International Women's Day Award in 2014; no independent record of either was found. SSelf-stated — ON-SHEPPARDOne Nation Victoria, "Kellie Sheppard for Benambra"View source
Says she has never been a member of another political party. SSelf-stated — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Raised five children in a blended family and formerly ran a small lifestyle farm at Osbornes Flat. SSelf-stated — ON-SHEPPARDOne Nation Victoria, "Kellie Sheppard for Benambra"View source
Reported to have lived in the North East for most of her life, including Bright, Myrtleford and Osbornes Flat. RReported — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Now lives in the Ovens Valley, just outside the Benambra boundary; her eldest son teaches in Wodonga. She has two sons and three stepchildren. RReported — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
In 2022 she was reported as a Myrtleford homeowner with an investment property there, whose family of seven moved four times in a year as rentals became Airbnbs. RReported — BM-AIRBNBThe Border Mail, "Myrtleford homeowner Kellie Sheppard raises AirBNB concerns as town is short of long-term housing" (28 June 2022)View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Describes herself as an advocate for youth, health and regional resources.
Offers three promises: that voices in Benambra are heard in parliament, that her representation is conducted with honesty and integrity, and that she is available and approachable.
Told the Border Mail her top priority is youth mental health, while acknowledging it is not specifically in One Nation policy.
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Her profile cites the current government's failings on cost of living for regional families and small business, without naming specific measures.
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: wind back Labor's land tax increases on rental properties and small property owners, lift the payroll tax threshold, and abolish the 10 per cent stamp duty on home, contents and car insurance.
Crime and community safety
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: make Victoria the toughest state on crime, with a presumption against bail for repeat offenders, mandatory supervised bail for serious offences, a 24/7 Bail Court, and a 90-day clock from charge to trial on serious violent charges.
No crime or policing statement by Sheppard personally was found.
Housing affordability and supply
Told the Border Mail she supports One Nation's housing policies, including freeing up granny flats and spare-room rentals in the short term and releasing underused government land in the long term.
Opposes redevelopment of the Wodonga golf course for housing, citing flood risk, while saying she does not know enough to form a full view.
In 2022 she said she wanted more support to encourage owners to offer long-term accommodation rather than short-term rentals.
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: review government fees on new homes, a legal clock on planning and building approvals, and a higher foreign purchaser duty.
State government debt and fiscal management
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, abolish Gellung Warl and its funding, cut the public-service executive layer, and introduce sunset reviews for public agencies, to fund tax cuts.
No debt or budget statement by Sheppard personally was found.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, fund regional roads to a proper standard with a public Pothole Portal, finish regional rail track duplication, and support the full completion of Inland Rail.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Her profile lists education among the areas where the current government is failing regional families, without naming specific measures.
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: a knowledge-rich syllabus replacing the Victorian Curriculum, systematic phonics, expanded trade schools, and school vouchers so funding follows the student.
Health and healthcare access
Describes a family experience in which her son waited six hours in an emergency department and was turned away for lack of beds.
Cites a figure of 58 acute mental health beds for youth statewide, 54 of them in metropolitan areas.
Offers qualified support for a greenfield hospital in Albury-Wodonga, subject to community consultation, and says the 2021 clinical services plan is outdated.
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: a regional healthcare guarantee with 24/7 emergency departments in major regional hospitals, a statewide waiting-list view, and restored on-call mental health support for police.
Urban planning and housing density
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: require genuine community consultation before high-rise development is imposed on established suburbs, and before data centres or large batteries are approved near homes.
Climate and energy transition
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: scrap net-zero targets and subsidies, cancel large transmission projects such as VNI West, repeal Victoria's nuclear ban, and reverse the ban on gas connections in new homes.
No energy statement by Sheppard personally was found.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: scrap the Statewide Treaty entirely, abolish Gellung Warl and end its legislated funding.
No statement by Sheppard personally was found.
Regional and rural Victoria
Describes herself as an advocate for regional resources, citing government failings for regional families, health, small business and education.
Party platform rather than a candidate-specific statement: fund regional roads, restrict water trading to farmers with land to irrigate, support a Lake Buffalo expansion linked to Lake Nillahcootie by pipeline, and protect farmland from industrial energy projects.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Albury-Wodonga hospital: qualified support for a greenfield hospital, pending community consultation. SSelf-stated — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Wodonga golf course: opposes redevelopment for housing because of flood risk. SSelf-stated — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Says she supports One Nation's housing policies, including granny-flat and spare-room reform and release of underused government land. SSelf-stated — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Says her top priority, youth mental health, is not specifically in One Nation policy, but that she will push for it. SSelf-stated — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Not among the candidates listed for Benambra at the 2022 state election. VVerified — TR-BENAMBRAThe Tally Room, "Benambra – Victoria 2026"View source
A Border Mail article describes her as One Nation's first candidate for the Benambra seat. A search found no earlier state, federal or local election candidacy. RReported — BM-HEALTHThe Border Mail, "One Nation Benambra candidate Kellie Sheppard urges health reform (youth mental health front of mind)" (5 Oct 2026)View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Eligible if she is elected or receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in Benambra, per the VEC's own funding guidance for independent candidates and registered parties (accessed 2026-10-11).
Funding is paid as the lower of an amount based on first-preference votes (the VEC's 2026-27 indexed rate for lower house candidates is $7.70 per vote) or the candidate's actual eligible expenditure. Funding received in advance must be repaid if the 4% threshold is not met. Check the VEC site for the current legal status of the funding provisions.